edited by Johann Baptist Homann
Johann Baptist Homann (1664-1724) (editor) |
 |
To see other Homann prints on our site, use our site search engine.
Map of Africa showing the continent at an early age of its exploration by Europeans. Rivers, lakes, raised topography, and towns are all depicted, though by and large the interior cartography was based upon hearsay and not direct documentation. The decorative cartouche features a group of Africans with ivory tusks, a large tortoise and other animals, with a landscape background and cupids overhead.
An inscription in the lower left reads: “Benevole Spectator – Ludolphum hactenus incaute secuti sunt, qui quodam novo sistemate originem Nili recentioribus Tabulis suis perperam inseruerunt. Nos authoritatem Viri maxime Reve P. Henrici Schereri SI. Geographi celeberrimi, qui ex vers PP Missionariorum suce Societatis relationibus tale nobis quale huc posuimus schema utrisque Nili albi et atri fluminis Prænobilis viri Ioannis Caspari Bencardi ec. Bibliopoie Augustani præstantissime editum remittimus.” (Addressed to “Kind Viewer, the inscription essentially explains that the origin of the Nile, hitherto improperly understood, has been updated according to recent information presented by the celebrated geographer Rev. P. Henry Scherer concerning the form of the White Nile.)
Johann Baptist Homann, a former Dominican monk, became a celebrated cartographer of 18th century Nuremburg, Germany, producing maps and celestial charts (generally in atlases), and globes of high quality both in their geographic accuracy and aesthetic appeal. According to map expert R.V. Tooley: "The most important and prolific map-makers in Germany in the 18th century were the Homann family (1702-1813). The founder and principal member was Johann Baptist Homann. He set up his headquarters in Nuremberg and quickly dominated the German market. Nor did he confine his efforts to his homeland, but produced general atlases covering the whole world."
After settling in Nuremburg in 1688, Johann Baptist Homann was employed as a map engraver before founding his own firm in 1702. Homann’s geographical, celestial, and astronomical maps were published in a variety of states throughout the 18th century, which are generally difficult to distinguish from one another. Most of his geographical maps first appeared in Atlas Novus [New Atlas] (1714) and his celestial maps, produced in collaboration with Johann Gabriel Doppelmayr, were issued as part of various publications before being published as a collection posthumously by his heirs, most notably as Atlas Coelestis in quo Mundus Spectabilis et in Eodem Stellarum Omnium Phoenomena Notabilia, issued as 30 plates in 1742.
Homann’s geographical maps were frequently republished by the Homann heirs throughout the 18th century, most notably in Atlas Geographicus Maior (c. 1780) and Atlas Homannianus, (Amsterdam, 1731-1796). Homann was initially succeeded by his son, Johann Christoph Homann (1703-1730), then by his friend Johann Michael Franz (1700-1761) and stepsister’s husband Johann Georg Ebersberger (1695-1760). The company continued operations under different names until 1848.
References:
Dekker, Elly, et al. Globes at Greenwich: A Catalogue of the Globes and Armillary Spheres in the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich. London: Oxford University Press and the National Maritime Museum, 1999. p. 327.
Tooley, R.V. Maps and Map-Makers. New York: Bonanza Books, 1949. p. 27.
van Gent, Robert Harry. “The Atlas Coelestis (1742) of Johann Gabriel Doppelmayr.” 23 April 2003. http://www.phys.uu.nl/~vgent/doppelmayr/doppelmayr.htm (15 September 2004)