River Thames Estuary in 1667 – a historical map by Matthaus Merian

Description

A map of the river Thames Estuary in 1667, engraved by Matthaus Merian and published in “Theatrum Europaeum”. The map includes an inset of river Medway and Isle of Sheppey and shows towns and villages along the Kent and Essex coasts, sandbanks in Thames estuary and names of some English and Dutch ship in the key. “Rivier oder gegent von London mit der eroberung der Insul Schepey, sambt weg nehmung und ver brenung der Englischen Schiffen, auff der Rivier von Rochester. 1667”.

Theatrum Europaeum was a journal on the history of the German-speaking lands by Matthäus Merian, published between 1633 and 1738 in 21 quarto volumes.

Matthäus Merian der Ältere (1593 – 1650) was a Swiss-born engraver who worked in Frankfurt for most of his career, where he also ran a publishing house. Born in Basel, Merian learned the art of copperplate engraving in Zürich. He next worked and studied in Strasbourg, Nancy, and Paris, before returning to Basel in 1615. The following year he moved to Frankfurt, Germany where he worked for the publisher Johann Theodor de Bry, who was the son of renowned engraver and traveler Theodor de Bry. Early in his life, he had created detailed town plans in his unique style. With Martin Zeiler, a German geographer, and later with his own son, he produced a Topographia Germaniae in 38 parts. After Merian’s death, his sons Matthaus Jr and Caspar continued publishing of Topographia Germaniae and Theatrum Europaeum. It includes numerous town plans and views, as well as maps of most countries and a World Map – it was such a popular work that it was re-issued in many editions. He also took over and completed the later parts and editions of the Grand Voyages and Petits Voyages, originally started by de Bry in 1590. He was also noted for the finesse of his alchemical illustrations.

This poster is a high quality “giclee” reproduction of a restored antique original, custom-printed on Standard Single-weight Matt Coated art paper 140gsm or  Heavyweight Matt Coated art paper 230gsm (more of a thin card density), or superb Epson Matt Canvas 320gsm, according to your choice. We use the latest UltraChromeHDX pigment inks which guarantee 60 years of colour  permanence (up to 200 years fade-proof for colour prints).  This poster is suitable for mounting and framing, as well as direct display on a wall.

IMPORTANT: If you are going to frame this print we recommend art paper 230gsm or canvas 320gsm. The 140gsm art paper option makes sense if you wish to DIY-frame or to tack the poster to a wall without framing, due to it being lighter and more flexible. All three options are giclee prints of the same high quality.

POSTER PRINT QUALITY

Please note that our reproduction posters are made to order and every print is checked before posting. The images we use in most cases are scans of antique originals, professionally restored in order to remove the most evident stains, folds, tears and other damage. We strive to balance the restoration and saving the overall integrity and antique appearance of the original. Our restored images are unique and these prints can be purchased only from www.VictorianMaps.com.

There will be no watermark on your image but there might be a white border depending on aspect ratio of the original. Please note that when a large antique original is reduced to a smaller size print some text may not be readable. Please check our measurements: every poster has its own aspect ratio same as original and printed exactly as pictured.