A Highly Important Map of the United States

A highly educated merchant from Scotland, John Melish first visited America on business in 1806. He returned in 1811 to settle in Philadelphia and continue his successful business of commercial cartography where he quickly became one of America’s greatest mapmakers. Until the publication of this grand map of the United States, the growing body of geographical knowledge about America was assimilated primarily on military maps and British commercial maps, none of which had ever encompassed the entirety of U.S. Territory.

With American nationalism strengthening after the War of 1812, a friend mentioned to Melish that he would like to see a map that would condense one grand view of the whole of U.S. Territory. Recognizing the seemingly endless demand for geographical information on the American West, Melish produced his six-sheet map with the help of Philadelphia engravers John Vallance and Henry S. Tanner, which would later be known as his finest achievement. He drew on published eastern state maps and west coast surveys and city studies to create this mammoth sized map which is the first map to show the U.S. Territory stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Little was know about the West, and this map seemed to embody the burgeoning notion of Manifest Destiny.

Although quite beautiful and magnificent to behold, this map functioned as a key in treaties and border disputes between the United States and Mexico in later years. It also improved knowledge of the American West and Texas, and thus promoted settlement in these areas by Anglo-Americans where opportunities for self-advancement and freedom seemed possible.

This map is currently on view at our Jackson Square location at 435 Jackson Street, San Francisco. Please contact us if you have any additional questions about this important map.

Modified Gallery Hours - First week of July

Monday, June 30 - Thursday, July 3rd - 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Friday, July 4th - CLOSED
Saturday, July 5th - CLOSED

Monday, July 7th we will resume our regular schedule: Mon - Fri, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.; Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Happy Fourth of July!

Exquisite Wall Map of Europe by Overton

Detail of vignette of Amsterdam

Detail of vignette of Paris

English cartography rose to prominence at the turn of the 18th century, and one of Britain’s most celebrated cartographers was Henry Overton, who successfully reissued several editions of John Speed's popular county maps of England. One of Overton’s most splendid productions is this wall map, a highly ornamental production that shows Europe as it was in the time of Louis XIV. The map is flanked by sixteen large detailed views of important cities: London, Paris, Rome, Amsterdam, Constantinople, Lisbon, Seville, Antwerp, Venice, Frankfurt, Prague, Cologne, Copenhagen, Kracow, and Danzig. This map is a valuable record of the growth of these cities, presenting an image of them as they were in the 1700’s. The whole is enclosed within a richly colored, highly decorative floral border.

This is a very rare map, not noted by the British Museum Catalogue of Printed Maps. The date of the map is uncertain, but is certainly after 1707, the year in which the mapmaker, Henry Overton, succeeded his father, John Overton. Antique wall maps such as this are exceedingly rare, for lacking the protection of bound maps, they were often destroyed by the effects of light, humidity, and carelessness. Overton’s Europe is a rare example of such a map to survive not only intact, but in excellent condition, with vivid original color.

This spectacular wall map is currently on view at Arader Galleries and available for purchase. For more information, call 415-788-5115.

Celestial engravings by Bayer and Cellarius

Andreas Cellarius

Andreas Cellarius

Johann Bayer

Johann Bayer

Arader Galleries has a wonderful selection of historically significant Celestial prints. Two prominent artists that we have in our collection are Johann Bayer (1572-1625) and Andreas Cellarius (1595-1665). We are pleased to present original hand-colored copperplate engravings from Johann Bayer’s Uranometria. This first edition was published in Augsburg, Germany in 1603 by Christopher Mangus and only 200 were printed. It contained 51 star charts and was the first atlas to map the entire celestial sphere. The Uranometria charted 12 new constellations in the Southern sky in addition to the existing 48 that were charted by Ptolemy. It was one of the most memorable 17th century guides and was named in honor of Urania, the muse of astronomy. The Uranometria was first atlas to identify astral magnitude (the brightness of stars) with a lettering system. We still use this system today for visible stars. (Greek characters represented brighter stars, Roman characters represented fainter stars).

Bayer was a lawyer by trade and only an amateur astronomer. By publishing his atlas Bayer may have had an ulterior motive; he dedicated the atlas to the city council and prominent citizens of Augsburg who rewarded him with an honorarium and a seat on the city council as legal adviser. This atlas was created about 50 years after the "Peace of Augsburg," a treaty signed between Charles V, the holy roman emperor, and an alliance of Lutheran princes to end the struggle between the two groups. Bayer died near the beginning of the 30 years war in Germany .

Andreas Cellarius, first released the Harmonia Macrocosmica in 1660 in Amsterdam , with a reprint in 1661. A post-humus edition was also produced in 1708 by Schenk and Valk (but without the Latin commentary). In general, the plates of the 1660/61 editions are coloured in bright tones – those of the 1708 reprint tend to be more plain in coloring. There were 29 color plates and the atlas was published by Johannas Janssonius as a cosmographical supplement to his Atlas Novis. Cellarius was a Dutch-German mathematician and cosmographer born in Neuhausen, Germany. At the time Harmonia was published he was also working as the rector (headmaster) of a Latin school. Cellarius started working on Harmonia shortly before 1647, and originally intended it to be a historical introduction for a two-volume treatise on cosmology but the second part was never published. In addition to their aesthetic appeal the plates represent the most sweeping and ambitious project in the history of celestial cartography. Harmonia illustrates the historical tensions of the times. It was first published in the same year that Freidrich Wilhelm “The Great Elector” gained sovernity over the Prussia, thus ending the Polish fiefdom.

The plates present the evolution of the field of astronomy from ancient times to hypotheses contemporary to Cellarius. They are executed in a distinctive visual language and portrayed the often-conflicting theories that prevailed. In addition to the relatively obscure notions of Tycho Brahe and Schiller, they also track the theories of Ptolemy and Copernicus. During the 17th and 18th century Dutch cartographers such as Cellarius reigned supreme in their field.

Images: Bayer: Cepheus. Eridanus (river) Cellarius: Typus Tuum, Opposi Ptolemaica Planetarum Eccentricos Demonstrans

Exquisite Botanical Watercolors by Le Moyne

Jean Jacques Le Moyne is known as the most prominent Huguenot artist in history. Emerging as a court artist in France under Charles IX, Le Moyne was appointed artist and cartographer for the 1562 Huguenot expedition to the New World led by Jean Ribault. While exploring present day Florida and South Carolina with the French Protestant settlers, Le Moyne collected specimens of various flora and fauna which he observed and studied and later turned into beautiful paintings.

His watercolors on vellum were most likely produced from 1568-1572, when he returned from the New World expedition and worked in France before immigrating to England . Though his landscape paintings of the New World were quite popular, his botanicals are considered to be his finest achievement as he was well known in both England and France for his remarkable illustrations. These exquisite watercolors can be seen in our extraordinary paintings annex gallery in San Francisco.

California as an Island maps

One of the most interesting cartographic myths of the European exploration of the Americas was maps depicting California shown as an island. This famous misconception impacted the accuracy of mapmaking for over a hundred years, until its acceptance of California as part of the mainland was established in the mid-eighteenth century.

Between the years of 1500 and 1747, a lot of confusion ensued over whether or not California, a mysterious land with an abundance of gold, was in fact an island. As early as 1500, California was thought to be an island. As more and more explorers ventured up the coastal region, it was established that California was, in reality, part of the mainland. This discovery, however, did not last long as miscommunications and mistaken observations turned the coast back into an island!

Beginning in the year 1622, California began its cartographic existence as a large island off the coast of Newe Spaine, accompanied by an article by Henry Briggs. The “island of California” appeared to have a rough and rocky coastline complete with smaller islands off the shore. The theory became universally accepted over the next ten years as influential published such as Nicolas Sanson, Fredrick de Wit and Nicolas de Fer created beautiful maps that confirmed California’s insularity. Some maps even highlighted a functional Northern coast with finger-like peninsulas reaching towards the mainland.

Father Eusebio Kino confirmed that California was part of the landmass of America in 1698 by walking to California from the mainland without encountering a body of water, then showing his results in a map published in 1705. Still, it was not until 1747 when Ferdinand VII of Spain declared it part of the mailand, by royal decree stating, “California is not an Island,” that cartographers began to eliminate the myth. Interestingly, the practice of depicting California as an island lasted until 1865 in Japanese cartography.

Arader Galleries is pleased to present to you our collection of these cartographical curiosities, all of which are currently available for purchase at our San Francisco location. Please contact us with any questions you have about this fascinating collection.

An Iconic Panorama View of San Francisco by Eadweard Muybridge

Eadweard Muybridge (English-born, American photographer, 1830-1904)
“Panorama of San Francisco”
San Francisco: 1877
Albumen prints from glass negatives 11-panel photograph panorama
13” x 88” framed (shown here photographed in 6 sections)

The albumen print, also called albumen silver print, was invented in 1850 by Louis Désiré Blanquart-Evrard, and was the first commercially exploitable method of producing a photographic print on a paper base from a negative. It used the albumen found in egg whites to bind the photographic chemicals to the paper and became the dominant form of photographic positives from 1855 to the turn of the century, with a peak in 1860-90.

Eadweard Muybridge was a brilliant, eccentric photographer, who gained worldwide fame photographing animal and human movement imperceptible to the human eye.

Muybridge’s given name was Edward James Muggeridge, and he was born at Kingston upon Thames in England. In 1855 Muybridge moved to San Francisco, starting his career as a publisher’s agent and bookseller. He left San Francisco at the end of the 1850s, after receiving severe injuries from a stagecoach accident, and returned to England. He returned to San Francisco, and found rapid success as a photographer focusing on landscape and architectural subjects. At this time he also started using the last name “Muybridge.” His photographs were sold by various photographic entrepreneurs on Montgomery Street, San Francisco's main commercial street at that time.
Muybridge’s reputation as a photographer continued to grow with his photographs focusing on Yosemite and San Francisco. He spent many years working traveling as a successful photographer. In 1868, Muybridge was commissioned to photograph the recent territory of Alaska on a US Army expedition, and in 1871 was selected as the photographer for the High Sierra survey. In 1871 he also married Flora Stone.

In 1872, Leland Stanford, a businessman, race-horse owner and former California governor, had taken a position on a popularly-debated question of the day: whether all four of a horse's hooves left the ground at the same time during a gallop. Stanford sided with this assertion that they did, called "unsupported transit", and decided to find scientific proof to back his theory. Stanford hired Muybridge to settle the issue. To prove Stanford's claim, Muybridge developed a scheme for instantaneous motion picture capture along with the chief engineer for the Southern Pacific Railroad, John D. Isaacs. In 1878, Muybridge successfully photographed a horse in fast motion to prove Stanford’s claim using a series of 24 cameras. This series of photographs, taken at what is now Stanford University, is now called The Horse in Motion, and is one of the most popular images in history.

While working on Stanford’s project in 1874, Muybridge discovered that his wife had a lover, a Major Harry Larkyns. On October 17, 1874, he sought out Larkyns; said, "Good evening, Major, my name is Muybridge and here is the answer to the letter you sent my wife,” and fatally shoot the major. Muybridge believed Larkyns to be his son's true father, although, as an adult, he bore a remarkable resemblance to Muybridge. He was put on trial for murder, his defense fees paid by Stanford, but was acquitted as a "justifiable homicide." An interesting aspect of Muybridge's defense was a plea of insanity due to a head injury Muybridge sustained following his stagecoach accident in the 1850s. Friends testified that the accident dramatically changed Muybridge's personality from genial and pleasant to unstable and erratic.

Hoping to capitalize upon the considerable public attention his photographs drew, Muybridge invented the Zoopraxiscope, which projected the images so the public could see realistic motion. The system was, in many ways, a precursor to the development of the motion picture film. His presentations of his photographs using the Zoopraxiscope in Europe and the United States were widely acclaimed by both the public and specialist audiences of scientists and artists.

Muybridge’s breathtaking 360-degree panorama from California Street hill, taken, it is believed by scholars, between May 23 and June 23 1877 (due to examination of the shadows), and probably on Monday (people are doing their wash). This image is Muybridge’s most famous single work, providing not only one of the best views of the bustling metropolis, but also a wealth of entertainment upon close examination. This picture tells many stories. Visible in striking detail are the mansions of the rich and the dwellings of the poor, the churches, hotels, banks, and other features. Muybridge also produced a mammoth plate panorama of San Francisco, which is excessively rare. The present, smaller version was issued folding, into cloth covers.

Works by Muybridge are in the collections of most major art museums worldwide, including the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the J. Paul Getty Museum, the National Gallery of Art, the Museum of Modern Art and the Musée d’Orsay.

Please contact Arader Galleries for price information.