Ex Cartographica Transilvaniae, Moldaviae, Vallachiae

These are some highlights from a small, private collection of antique maps of nowadays Romania (comprising the historical regions of Transylvania, Moldavia, Wallachia, Banat, Dobrodgea and Bukowina). Please email any comments.

These maps have been selected based on their importance. Some of them are very rare maps of the area while others are authored by the most important cartographers of their time.

This woodcut map (44.5-50 x 37 cm) comes from the edition of Ptolemy's Geographia published first in 1482 and reprinted in 1486 in Ulm by Nicolaus Germanus. After the previous copperplate editions of Ptolemy's work printed in Italy, this is the first one to be done in woodcut and to be printed outside Italy, in Germany. While the woodcut is coarser then the fine copperplate engraving, the map has a lovely appearance, being not so far away from the manuscript Ptolemy maps of Germanus.

The book (and the maps) were reprinted from the same plates in 1486 and both editions were coloured at the time of publishing. While the strong blue colour for the sea is normally associated with the 1482 edition, a number of maps from the second one are also known in this colouring. Most of the maps of the 1486 edition have the sea coloured in brown. Titles were added to the maps in the later edition.

These maps are considered to be the finest Ptolemy printed maps. Both in terms of keeping to the original Ptolemy information and in terms of graphical skill, this map is a lovely example of incunabula printing. This copy comes from the 1486 edition, is in overall very good condition, with fresh colour. Fold has been nicely repaired at back with very little loss to the image area.

Published by Hartman Schedel in his world famous incunabula Nuremberg Chronicle, printed in 1493, this map was prepared by Hieronymus Munzer, a doctor in Nuremberg. It is based on the Cusanus map of 1491 and was engraved by Michael Wolgemut.

This map is important as it is published in one of the most popular books of its time. The Chronicle contained a description of the world history together with a description of the different parts of the world. It contains a big number of woodcuts of different countries and cities. At the end of the book two maps were added, one of the world and this present one.

My copy is in full, early hand colouring and is in good condition (a lot of these maps are found in very bad condition as this was the last page in the book and us such was exposed to degradation).

The most important book printed in the Romanian teritories in the 16th century is with no doubt Johannes Honter's Rudimenta Cosmographica. Published first in Poland in 1530, a new version, this time in rime, is published by Honter in Brasov in 1542. Additionally Honter has cut himself 13 maps and 3 diagrams for this book which make the Rudimenta the first atlas to be printed in Eastern Europe. The book, intended for teaching geography, became a clasic and was published more then 60 times in different places in Europe (Zurich, Amsterdam, Prag, etc.) in the following 150 years. This makes Honter's book the most famous printing coming from the Romanian countries in the 16th century (Cantemir's History of the Ottoman Empire being the most famous book of a Romanian author in the 18th century).

The maps in this collection come from one of the Zurich editions, published by Christoffel Froschauer with the maps being reingraved by Heinrich Vogtherr the Elder. As the original Brasov edition, these are woodcuts but, different from Honter's own cutting, metal letters have been used in the Zurich edition. This copy is special as it is coloured, most probably around the time of publishing, something that is not common with the Honter maps. Additionally it contains ample manuscript adnotations, most probably from the 17th century. These characteristics make it a lovely copy, even if the maps are not part of a bookbinding any longer.

This is one of the very few Lafreri maps showing the teritory of Romania. It was printed by Gastaldi in 1559 in Venice as the Estern sheet of a bigger map of the lower Danube.

It is based on Gastaldi's own woodcut map of 1546, known today by a single copy in the Vatican Library. This was later reprinted by Lafreri (who also changed the cartouche of the map). It was to become the reference map of the region for more then 150 years.

This map from the most important Italian mapmaker of all times is a rare item in any collection. My copy is in very good condition, trimmed at the plate as most of the Lafreri maps.

This beautiful map has been published first in 1570 by Ortelius in his famous Theatrum Orbis Terrarum. Ortelius writes that he has based this map on that printed in 1566 by Sambacus, a Hungarian friend of his. That map is actually a very close copy of the 1532 map of Transylvania printed in Basel by Honter.

Honter's map is the first map dedicated to Transylvania. While it was not based on a scientific survey, it does provide a lot of detailed information about the cities and villages of Transylvania. Ortelius made this map famous as it became the standard cartographic work on Transylvania up to the 1680s when more accurate maps of this region were prepared and printed by Rossi.

This can be considered to be the most beautiful map of Transylvania ever printed. While this is a map that is not so difficult to find, the copy in this collection is in very good condition with very artistic old colouring.

Another lovely map by Ortelius, published the first time in the Theatrum of 1584. It shows Eastern Balkan, including Wallachia and Moldavia. This copper-plate map (50 x 37 cm) is based on the Gastaldi map of this area. The map has the name Romaniae but this refers to the region that is now European Turkey and not to the Romanian territories. For the Romanian countries Gastaldi used the Wapowski map of Poland.

The copy in this collection is from the Latin 1584 edition and has original coloring, with gold used for mountains, cartouche text and border decoration. This is almost like a famous Romanian poem: "muntii nostri aur poarta..." The map has a huge decorative cartouche.

Last but not least is the Ortelius map of Dacia. While the previous two maps by him have been copies of maps prepared by otehr authors, this map of the Romania teritories during Roman times is the result of the research and preparation made by Ortelius himself. Printed firstly in 1595 this map was part of Parergon, the atlas of antique maps printed by Ortelius. The map is this collection has nice old colouring and is in good condition.

While they were printed around the same time and in the same city as the Ortelius maps, the maps of De Jode never had the same success. As a result only two editions were printed, first in 1578 and again in 1593. The result is a map that is rather rare, especially compared with the Ortelius maps. The map shows the lower part of the Danube river and is complemented by another map showing the upper part of the river. The information is an interesting combination of old, Ptolemy based information, and "new" information collected from other maps of the time.

The map in this collection has lovely old colouring and is in very good condition.

This map was printed in Koln in a couple of books published in 1595. It illustrated the work "Chorographia Moldaviae" of a Transilvan author called Reichersdorffer. This book had been previously printed in Vienna but without any map. For some time this was considered to be a map prepared by the author but now it can be agreed that Reichersdorffer had nothing to do with the map. This copper-plate (31.6 x 23 cm) was prepared in Koln in a print-shop where the famous Antwerpen engraver Hogenberg has helped set up a engraving atelier. The elegant engraving is very similar to other Hogenberg work but attributing it to him is rather difficult.

Anyway, this can be considered the first map dedicated to Moldavia. It was not superseded until the 1700 map of Moldavia by Price Dimitrie Cantemir. The inspiration of this map seems to be a woodcut map of Polonia by Bernard Wapowski. This map is known only from two surviving fragments but one of these fragments contains the Danube Delta. The present map is very similar to that fragment of Wapowski's map and one could presume that it was inspired by it.

My copy is from the 1746 edition, from a new plate. There are some small differences which make the identification simple. First, all letter ornaments (curling long lines) have been removed. Also missing is an ornament on the right side of the left lower side cartouche. Another missing element is the nice frame outside the degree grid.

This very rare map was printed in Augsburg by Dominicus Custos in 1596. It was issued as a sheetmap for the occasion of the wedding of Sighismund Bathory with Maria Christierna. The map has their portraits at the center top side.

The map is obviously based on Ortelius version of the Honter map. The engraving is done in the Dutch style of the time but comes from one of the most important portrate engravers of his time, Custos.

My copy is in fine condition with the exception of the right side where a number of tears in the plate have been restored. Considering that only two other copies are known (in museums in Budapest and Berlin), this is a special item in this collection. It comes from a composite atlas of the 18th century.

This fabulous map of Transilvania was prepared by one of the most important cartographers of its time, Coronelli. The copper-plate (58.4 x 43.5 cm) was printed in 1690 and has an elaborate cartouche in the right lower side. The map is based on the one printed in 1688 by Rossi and shows the cities and villages with their Hungarian, German and Romanian name (sometimes also Latin name). Very detailed map, with heraldic symbols and another scale cartouche in top right corner.

The cartouche in the lower side has the Habsburg eagle crushing Turkish flags, a symbol of the Catholic fight against the Turkish push towards Central Europe. The overall engraving is a great example of the excellent Italian engraving skills of the time.

The copy in this collection has full old colouring. Most copies are black and white, as issued. This copy has a subtile colouring that makes the engraving even better, transforming the map into one of the finest of the area, second only to the Ortelius one.

In 1716 the Austrian Imperial army under the new commander Prince Eugen de Savoyen starts winning the first battles against the Turks that succeeded to advance up to Vienna in the previous century. Soon after the Peterwardein victory, the Prince decides to siege the fortress of Timisoara, a key position on the way to Belgrade and towards Eastern Balkan.

A number of battle plans and city views were published at that time in Europe, allowing people to follow the latest developments, pretty much as newspaper photos today. Among them we find this rare battle plan with a city view prepared by Kaspar Rad and printed in Augsburg as a separate sheet (44 x 40 cm). As it was not bound in an atlas or book, it ahs become very rare to find.

This copy has excellent, fresh, old colouring.

This is a detailed, big size, manuscript map of Oltenia. It is clearly a copy of the manuscript map by Friederich Schwantz (?-1728). As an Austrian army officer he led a group that surveyed Oltenia (newly attached to the Habsburg Empire in 1716).

The Schwantz map is the first proper survey of this area. The result was a manuscript map on four sheets (each 58x64cm), now in the Berlin Staatbibliotek. This manuscript copy has the same title as the original manuscript and is 4 times smaller.

The map bears the imprint "Joannes Weingartner Ingenieror & Geographus fecit Veina Ano 1738". The cartouches have been kept as in the original map but decorations have been simplified in the cartouches.

Drawn in a number of colours, it shows the Austrian Oltenia (only the part East of the Old was under their control) in great detail. Cities, villages, monasteries, roads (including the newly build Via Carolina next to the Olt into Transylvania) are being shown. The region is divided in five administrative districts: Romunaz (symbol a tree), Syll Infer (a fish?), Mehedinz (a bee hive?), Syll Super (a dear), Wulza (a tree again).

The map shows also a number of places in Southern Transilvania (like Sibiu and the area) and in Banat (Orsova, Caransebes). Decorated with three cartouches, legend and scale. The Austrians had control of this area from 1718 to 1739. Most probably this manuscript copy was made for field command in the 1738-1739 Austrian-Turkish war.

As any manuscript map, this copy is very rare (after all only one was made, right?). Glued on cloth, the map has excellent, fresh colours and is in good condition with the exception of some marginal areas. It could be the earliest manuscript map of Oltenia in private hands.

From the same period (the 1738-1739 war) are three smaller manuscript plans of army movements showing Ramnicul Valcea (Ribnik - 35 x 25 cm), Orastie (Saschwarosch - 35 x 25 cm) and Balomirii de Campie (Ballomir - 35 x 25 cm). These plans show the daily movement of the troup during the retreat from Banat and Oltenia. Two copies were always drawn, one being urgently sent to Vienna and one being kept by the comanding officers. Very similar manuscript plans (including an almost identical copy of the Ribnik plan) are to be found in the British Library. It is obvious by comparing the copies in my collection with those from the BL that we are talking about plans made by the same hand.

Sometime after 1711 Prince Dimitrie Cantemir prepared a map of Moldavia, inspired by the 1700 Wallachia map by Cosntantin Cantacuzino. The map was later copied in manuscript by d'Anville (now in the French National Library) and was published in 1737 in Amsterdam (probably prepared for a printed edition of Description Moldaviae which got never printed). This printed version is known from a single copy (again in the French National Library).

The Cantemir map became the base of a number of other maps of Moldavia, including of the map printed by la Rouge in 1770 in Paris. Printed from two sheets (49 x 66.5 cm), it contains a lot of detail on Moldavia, as the original Cantemir map.

Called "Carte de la Moldovie dressee sur celle du Prince Cantimir", it was printed and distributed to subscribing clients. As it was not part of an atlas it is very rare. I succeeded to locate a single other copy in museums (the French navy archive).

The first plate (upper area) shows the north of Moldavia and the regions today in Ukraina. This part has the title Moldavie Septentrionale. This plate seems to have been printed around 1768. The lower plate is from 1770 and nicely completes the map. The paper of the two plates is different proving that the two plates have been printed at different times. The engraving style is also somewhat different (in the way mountains have been done) showing either a different hand of the same hand but later in time.

This copy is in god condition, with border colouring. It has survived as it was folded in a binding, together with another map.

A lovely manuscript map of a part of South Bukowina. Located now in the North of Romania, bordering Ukraina, the area represented in the map shows Radauti, Putna and other cities and villages in the area. Nice use of colour and detailed representation of water, forest, roads. The map is undated but the style of the hand drawing suggest 1820-1840. At that time Bukowina was part of the Habsburg empire.

Bearing the title "Karte der k.k. Herrschaft Fratautz in der Bukowina", the map seems to have served administrative purposes and was drawn by Jager Friedrich, most probably in Vienna. It must be based on the surveys done by the Austrian army in that area in 1773-1775 under the supervision of Major Buschel.

As any manuscript it is very rare. The map is in great condition and has great colouring. The detail is fantastic, each house in the area being represented (maybe the map was used even for tax collecting?).