Title page of the book Habiti delle Donne Venetiane" (Dress of Venetian Women) which consists of twenty numbered plates of ornately dressed women. This very decorative title page shows in to Rialto Bridge and in the center a bird's-eye plan of Venice.Giacomo Franco (1556-1620) was born and grew in Venice, where he used to work. He was the son of painter Giovanni-Battista Franco (1510-1561), with whom he began his artistic training at the age of eleven. He worked as a painter, engraver, woodcutte...

Columbus is standing in the bow of his ship, which is near the shore. He is clad in a long mantle and undercoat, while his armor lies at his feet, and his standard is floating from the foremast. Behind him is Minerva, carrying a spear and a shield with the head of Medusa in the center, presenting a laurel branch to Columbus.Behind the goddess is Mars in full armor, standing on the back of a turtle for a chariot, and drawn by three lions. Near him, are two Sirens, whilst at the head of the vessel...

Allegorical scene allegorical image celebrating the circumnavigation of the earth by Ferdinand Magellan. The image shows Magellan on board of his ship, surrounded by mythological figures including Apollo with sun and lyre, Zeus on his throne of clouds, Adam and Eve. A bird carrying an elephant and a depiction of the Tierra del Fuego.The image also includes cannon, banner with the double-headed Hapsburg eagle, anchor, broken mast, navigational instruments such as armillary sphere and dividers, se...

Whale and whaling scene, set against a mountainous landscape in the manner of Pieter Brueghel the Elder. Plate number 1. The engraving is copied after Adrian Collaert plate in "Piscium Vivæ Icones" a series first published in Antwerp by Adriaen Collaert after 1598, later published between 1627 and 1677 by Galle family. Several copies were made of this series.Most of the ships in the background were copied from a series of ten prints known as the Sailing Vessels, executed by Frans Huys after des...

Text engraving showing a bay on the Island of Ternate, an island in the Maluku Islands (Moluccas) of eastern Indonesia. Above the map a lettered key (A-E). Text engraving from "Premier livre de l'histoire de la navigation aux Indes Orientales, par les hollandois, et des choses a eux advenues . . . ", being the classic account of the first Dutch voyage to the East Indies under the command of Cornelis de Houtman. the expedition left in 1595, after Holland had achieved independence from Spain and c...

Decorative engraving of the fourth sea battle with the Portuguese fleet offshore at the Rio Grande, in 1640. Engraved by J. van Brosterhuyzen after a design by Frans J. Post (1612-1680). Below the engraving a numbered key (1-6). Signed in the plate "F. Post 1645" and decorative title cartouche, with "[Quartum praelium coniovian inter et fluvium Rio Grande XVII Jan" in the upper left corner.Taken from C. BARLAEUS, Rerum per octennium in Brasilia (...).

Prince Maurits' sailing carriages had been designed by Simon Stevin. The Prince, always accessible to new inventions of his old instructor, could not please the foreign ambassadors more than by inviting them for a ride in his carriage. The big sailing-carriage could seat 28 persons and could reach a speed of seven miles per hour. Land sailing : The Chinese had "wind-driven carriages" since the 6th century AD, during the Liang Dynasty, and eventually mounted masts and sails on large wheelbarrows....

Showing the town of Salins, a commune with salt works (Salines) in the Jura department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. With a key (1-15) in Latin and French to the most remarkable sights. Etching by A. F. Bauduins (Adrien François Baudouin) after Adam Frans van der Meulen (1632-1690) who was a Flemish Baroque painter specialising in battle scenes. He was active first in Brussels, where he was a pupil of Pieter Snayers, and from the 1660s onwards in Paris.His paint...

A decorative print of the 'T Landts Magazyn , or 'Scheepvaart Museum' (Naval Museum).

Italian version of Prince Maurits' sailing carriage designed by Simon Stevin. The big sailing-carriage could seat 28 persons and could reach a speed of seven miles per hour. The Prince often took his guests on a ride on the beaches of Scheveningen.

A highly decorative and beautiful print with 139 flags of the sea-faring nations, factions, and trading companies. Among the more interesting flags are those of the Dutch West India Company (G.WC. /Geoctroyeerde Westindische Compagnie) and the Dutch East India Company (V.O.C. / Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie). This plate is probably derived from a Dutch flag print issued by Cornelis Danckerts c. 1700.

La Sphere Terrestre / La Sphere CelesteA set of two very fine prints of a Terrestrial Sphere and a celestial Sphere. With an description on both sides. All within an elaborate and very decorative border. Claude Buy de Mornas (d. 1783), géographe du roi (1764). Atlas Méthodique et Elémentaire de Géographie et d' Histoire, 1761, Atlas Historique et Géographique, 1762.[Lot of 2 prints]

Formerly the V.O.C. warehouse and arsenal for the Admiralty of Amsterdam, now-a-days the Scheepvaartmuseum (Maritime Museum). Taken from the "Atlas of Amsterdam".

A very fine view of Cairo.

Decorative engraving giving good detail of the intense activity in the Amsterdam dockyards.Engraved for BANKES's New System of Geography

A so-called optical print showing a decorative imaginary town view of Québec, with a street view with soldiers marching and pedestrians, an idealized view depicting Québec as a typical European city.By Franz Xavier Habermann (1721-1796).This print is a fine example of this illusionary printmaking, but also as a testament to the strong interest by Europeans in America at the time and also as a fine example of the perspective view.In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, there were many popul...

Portrait de Benjamin Franklin. From Giulio Ferrario's work Le Costume ancien et moderne ou histoire du gouvernement, de la milice, de la religion, des arts, etc. published in Milan by the author between 1816 and 1827.This aquatint engraved plate was color printed on fine wove paper of a soft aged white color, bearing the embossed seal of authenticity impressed at the time of publication with the legend “Il Costume Antico E Moderno” surrounding the initials GF.  A beautifully hand colored aq...

The flower Talauma mutabilis from 'FLORA MALESIANA'. Talauma mutabilis by Karl Ludwig von Blume (9 June 1796, Braunschweig – 3 February 1862, Leiden) was a German-Dutch botanist. (3454)Lot of 7 flower prints.- Talauma mutabilis - Sobralia Macrantha- Détails de la liane femelle du Chili- Liane femelle du Chili- Détails de la lianne màle du Chili- Dianthus sinensis heddewigii- Dianthus sinensis laciniatus

A very decorative print showing the New York Ferry Boat "Fulton," published by Currier & Ives. The Ferry boat "Fulton" sails to the right. A single smokestack trails smoke, and two flags blow to the left. Passengers, horses, and a carriage are visible on deck, and a captain is in the wheelhouse at right.Published by Currier & Ives 125 Nassau Street, New York."Currier & Ives was a New York publishing firm that produced and sold thousands of impressions of more than 7,000 different lithographic pr...

A very decorative and large chromolithographed plate showing a line up of international vessels at Spithead, June 26th, 1897 In Honour of her Majesty Queen Victoria'a Diamond Jubilee. Below names of all International and British vessels giving presence on that day.