Map Collecting. An enjoyable affliction!

Starting a collection in a new subject can be thrilling. Collecting maps can begin in many ways. A long time interest might result in a decision to begin collecting antique maps. Finding an old chart among papers might create a desire to research family history; receiving an antique map as a gift, might lead to a desire to know more about it. Great enjoyment and never-ending interest can be derived from a single antique map. As with all truly satisfying collections, the wonder of discovery that is experienced with the first unusual or fascinating map, continues for a lifetime. Early maps appeal at all ages. Anyone with an interest in geography, history, art, genealogy or even general nostalgia can be captivated. View some we have available http://www.antiqueprintclub.com/ As we have hundreds of others, please enquire if you are looking for a particular region.

Pictured above is a wonderful original antique map circa 1753 of Australia (called New Holland in 1753 before the arrival and charting by Captain Cook in 1770). It has a dotted line down an inaccurate east coast, and wording along this line saying that it is assumed that Tasmania joins to Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea, but without proof! Among the world's most recently discovered coastlines, early Australian maps vary greatly - depending on the reliability of their authorship. This map is one of the most requested. View the early Australian antique maps that are currently available at  http://www.antiqueprintclub.com/c-9-australianzng.aspx As an original copperplate engraving of this map is rarely available, it is available as a Heritage Editions reproduction from our website.

If you are not interested in the technique used to create an early map and hand-made paper, and the ownership of a rare original antique map does not excite you, interesting early interpretations of the mapping of Australia are available as Heritage Editions reproductions or Limited Edition prints from early charts. The (hand-coloured) Limited Edition map above at right is from an original engraving of the first map of Australia published in English and showing only Australia. By Emanuel Bowen, it was originally published in England circa 1744. Below at left, is the Heritage Editions map originally published circa 1798 by Cassini, to show Captain Cook's navigation of the east coast, prior to Flinders' circumnavigation of Australia. Select from Heritage Editions reproduction maps at http://www.antiqueprintclub.com/c-8-maps.aspx. 

Map enthusiasts have different motivations for collecting. Some may wish simply to create a fine display of framed maps along a hallway of their home for everyone to enjoy; others may wish to add a prestigious perspective to their office. When hung on the wall, a well-framed map or chart adds a touch of distinction to any environment. In the office, the atmosphere created may be just that little bit more intellectual and conducive to doing business. Early maps are certainly a good talking point, and the pleasure they give is endless.

Sometimes a collector will secrete antique maps in special conservation storage - to be brought out on rainy days and peered at through a magnifying glass, or revealed to captive friends and family. The narrative of early voyages and discoveries are told within the scientific parameters of mapmaking. The finely engraved geographic detail, vignettes (engraved views), cartouches (title pieces), and decorative borders all reveal hours of painstaking artistry. The charting of coastlines, as well as representing the progress of discoveries, sometimes revealed through their inaccuracy, the competitive and artistic nature of their creators. 

Brisbane River (Australia) charted by John Oxley in 1823

Plan de la Riviere Brisbane(Nouvelle Hollande) Découverte par M. OXLEY Ingenieur Géographe au Port Jackson (Décembre 1823)

Chart of the Brisbane River Discovered by John Oxley, Geographical Engineer at Port Jackson. (December 1823)

John Oxley's "Plan of the Brisbane River (New Holland)", complete with depth soundings, was published first in a French world journal of voyages, by Louis Isidore Duperrey. Oxley's record of the river was drawn by Hacq and engraved on a copperplate by Ambroise Tardieu, for inclusion in Duperrey’s narrative of his voyages that included other's recent charts of the region, and was published in Paris in 1824 for “Voyage autour du Monde.. Atlas Hydrographie”.

In 1823 John Oxley was sent north from Sydney in search of a suitable site for the extension of the settlement of Port Jackson. He was commissioned to explore Moreton Bay, Port Curtis and Port Bowen, which had been discovered in 1799 by Matthew Flinders. After visiting Port Curtis, Oxley returned to Moreton Bay where he was apparently directed to the Brisbane River by an ex-convict of the name of Pamphlett, who had been living with local aborigines. Oxley carried out expeditions along the Pine River and Brisbane River and the adjacent countryside.

On his return to Sydney in December 1823, Oxley lodged his report. Soon after his return to Port Jackson, Oxley was made Surveyor-General of the Australian colony known as New South Wales. He recorded that “a fine river of major proportions has been discovered in northern New South Wales, New Holland.” and that “the river is navigable a full 40 miles upstream and looks certain to be opened up for development". The Moreton Bay penal colony was proposed for the following year. John Oxley named the river, and later the town, after the Governor of New South Wales, Thomas Brisbane.

Brisbane was still part of New South Wales until "separation" of the State of Queensland in 1859. The name Brisbane was in the balance at one stage, with several eminent people suggesting the town be called Edenglassie. For some reason, Governor Thomas Brisbane decided that 'Brisbane' was better.
Oxley's charting of the river, with depth soundings, is acknowledged as being extremely accurate in its detail and scope. Despite the periodic abuse by tides and river traffic, this chart is still of considerable relevance and interest – particularly to those who live nearby or use the river. It is a beautiful river - and important to anyone with an interest in the history of Brisbane.

Original copperplate-engraved maps circa 1824 are rarely seen today. Heritage Editions has reproduced a fine Limited Edition from an original engraving of John Oxley's in-depth charting of the Brisbane River, to make this interesting chart more readily available. These reprints are also available with the Brisbane River highlighted by hand-colour (see framed example). http://www.antiqueprintclub.com/c-8-maps.aspx

China Revealed to the west..

"China and the Chinese. A series of views from original sketches, displaying the scenery, architecture, social habits, etc., of this ancient and exclusive empire. by Thomas Allom Esquire."

China is a vast country with a huge population and a long history of dynastic empires and battles spanning thousands of years. In 1842, at the end of the first Opium War with Britain, China became accessible to the West through the newly-acquired British port of Hong Kong. China’s different customs, dress, transport and architecture, combined with unfamiliar religious and superstitious beliefs, created an exotic image. China's amazing natural land formations, engineering achievements, and their production of porcelain, silk, cotton, tea and rice, all fascinated the British.

The Opium Wars resulted when the Chinese authorities tried to stop the British East India Company’s supply of opium from India. Britain sent war ships from India to protect their ships and their trade. Chinese junks were no match for the British navy. With surrender, the Chinese ceded Hong Kong to the British. Pictured are two of the wonderful finely engraved scenes illustrating this battle.

One of the first westerners to accommodate the enormous British interest in China was English architect and Royal Academy-trained artist, Thomas Allom (1804-1872), whose passion was historical art. For circulation to the British population (and for us enjoy today), skilled topographical engravers were commissioned to produce steel-engravings of Allom’s sketches for publication in London in 1843. They proved so popular that they were re-issued in 1845 and again in 1849. Today it is the 1845 edition of these engravings that are mostly seen, as they were issued in groups of six with flimsy paper wrappers that rarely survived handling. Traditionally, these engravings were hand-tinted with watercolour to highlight their fine detail.

Allom drew intricate architectural scenes incorporating grand city gates, temples, homes of mandarins and wealthy merchants, and the beautiful porcelain tower (pictured). He showed the elaborate lifestyle of the ruling classes and the general populace at work and relaxing – including an infamous opium den. Along with commodity production processes, Allom shows an “itinerant” barber and “itinerant” doctor at work, and the more leisurely trade of fishing using the cormorants. Elegantly composed scenes incorporate practical bamboo aqueduct and irrigation wheels, colourful celebrations of the 5^th day of the 5^th moon with the dragonboat, the 9^th day of the 9^th moon with kite-flying, and many other traditional spectacles – and even famous burial sites.

As populations grow, traditions change, and constructions disappear, we are fortunate that Thomas Allom used his architectural and artistic skill, dedication and passion, to create a marvellous historic overview of China and the Chinese. These images of a fascinating centuries-old country, are available from time to time. View Thomas Allom's China at Antique Prints-General http://www.antiqueprintclub.com/c-29-views-general.aspx?pagenum=2

Antique Prints simply explained

To know more about antique prints, you should understand the processes involved in their creation. To start at the beginning, “printing” describes the transference of ink from a prepared printing surface (the block, plate or stone carrying the image) to a piece of paper. Ink can be carried on raised parts of a printing surface (relief process), in lowered carved or etched grooves (intaglio process), or on the surface itself (planographic or surface printing).

The relief process is an ancient method, where the relief surface is ready for printing once all the non-printing areas have been cut away from the original surface (as in a rubber stamp), leaving the area raised to receive the ink for printing.

The intaglio process is almost the reverse of this, as the ink is held in the grooves that have been carved or etched into an  engraving plate. The varying intensity of the ink is achieved by the different width and depth of grooves cut or incised by a hand-guided tool,  or by etching with the application of acid after carving into a plate that has been coated with wax. After the ink has fully penetrated the recesses, the surface of the plate is wiped. The paper is then subjected to considerable pressure to transfer the ink onto the paper, from the grooves of the engraving or etched plate. This pressure leaves an indentation from around the outside of the plate. This is known as the intaglio impression.

The planographic style of printing is the most in use today. It allows a completely facile drawing to be made. With a lithograph the printing surface remains flat as the process relies on the simple principle that grease repels water. The design is drawn on to the prepared stone with greasy ink - previously a zinc crayon was used. The plate is then washed with water that is absorbed by the stone yet repelled where the image has been drawn. Printing ink is then applied, and it adheres only to the drawn image, as the water repels the ink from the rest of the plate. Then the ink is transferred to the paper through a press. Lithography is rather a complex process even though the principle is straightforward.

For multiple copies, offset lithography is now often used. These days, for individual instantaneous images, printing is usually done by ink-jet or laser-printing of an image captured by a digital camera. This of course negates the need for all the effort and skill of bygone days; however, the clarity of a digital image, no matter how skillful, will never capture the personal style of the engraving or linework of the early artists. Nor is the amazing history of early discovery imparted in modern direct representation.

The romance of early voyages of discovery were recorded by an artist and transposed by an engraver onto a plate for printing and circulation. Whether recording the charting of a newly discovered coastline or the unfamiliar flora or fauna seen there, antique prints and maps were often engraved with imaginative embellishment - either from disbelief of the sketch from afar, or personal belief in rumour of alternate knowledge. Antique prints and maps portray the story of the world’s development and sophistication. 

Unlike digital replication, the fine details of original antique engravings were often hand-coloured by blending watercolours with gouache, gum Arabic, and even sometimes, gold or silver leaf, to achieve the individual style of each published image. Antique prints and maps will always be treasured, not only for the beautiful combination of science and art, but also because the rarity of each illustration on paper increases with the passage of time.

Classical Design: Piranesi Vases or Piranesi Urns.

A brilliant classical artist whose work is still admired - even though his name is often unknown. The series of Piranesi Vases, often simply referred to as Urns, will always find a place in classic design.

An 18th century architect by profession, Giovanni Battista Piranesi was a graphic artist of technical brilliance and of great expressive range. At his workshop he restored and designed amazing stone structures. His creations  often combined fantasy themes from his Baroque training, with his Roman archaeological discoveries. Piranesi's extensive work in the field of Roman archaeology was acknowledged by his election to the Society of Antiquaries of London.

Admiration of classical antiquity was reflected in Piranesi's imaginative restoration of the antiquities he found in Rome. Piranesi was commissioned by British patrons as well as wealthy locals, as is indicated in the elegant descriptive script on the copperplate engravings he produced to illustrate his work.

Piranesi's superb series of architectural design pieces are well-defined copperplate engraved illustrations on hand-made paper that were engraved and etched for "Vasi, Candelabri, Cippi y Sarcofagi, Tripodi Lucerne ed Ornamenti Antichi” published in Rome between 1773 and 1778. They make a dramatic statement in any decor - giving a stylish classical ambience to modern design.

There are many grand original engravings on hand-made paper, available from our website under Antique Prints-Classical/Design at  http://www.antiqueprintclub.com/c-22-classicaldesign.aspx?pagenum=8, or from the Brisbane Antique Emporium in Clayfield (open daily - except on public holidays).

Reproduction prints in the original size are available from the Heritage Editions-Classical/Design at http://www.antiqueprintclub.com/c-46-classicaldesign.aspx?pagenum=2 were printed during the 1990s to satisfy the demand by designers, bringing elegance and timelessness to modern contemporary living spaces.  (Please note that the digital images of our Heritage Editions prints do not do justice to the quality of these recently printed fine quality prints on heavy duty paper.)