Atlante Generale dell Ab: Bartolommeo Borghi Corredato di Prospetti Gstorici Politici Civili Naturali di ciascheduno Stato….
Oblong folio; contemporary marbled paper over boards, vellum backstrip & corners, black morocco label, edges worn, somewhat scuffed, joints tender; 168pp text & 119 engraved maps, some multi-sheet, all with original outline color; a slight bit of staining, but overall fine with deckled edges. A superb, contemporary-bound, complete copy of a rare and important Italian atlas. The library of the Senato della Repubblica only acquired a copy of this atlas this year (2008); the atlas is described on the library’s web site (see below for URL) as “one of the rarest specimens complete.” Valerio (see below) described this work as “the most important Florentine atlas…[It] remained an unsurpassed model for many other lesser and larger works.” One of the most important aspects of the atlas is that it incorporated the new geo-political contours of Europe decided upon at the Congress of Vienna held at the end of the Napoleonic Wars. Accordingly, the 12 maps of Italy and its various parts likewise reflect the new political order. Held between November, 1814 and June, 1815 and chaired by the Austrian statesman, C. W. von Metternich, the Congress sought to re-draw the map of Europe after the defeat of Napoleonic France in the previous year. The resulting political changes for Italy were many, among them being the re-establishment of traditional monarchies in the kingdoms of Sardinia, Sicily and Naples; the rule of the Hapsburg princes being re-established in the duchies of Tuscany and Modena; the restoration and extension of papal authority in the Papal States; and a number of other changes. Accompanying text in the atlas explains the geo-political changes made in Italy and elsewhere. The atlas also gives close attention to the mapping of North America and is quite up-to-date in this regard. In addition to a single-sheet map of North America, there is also a much more detailed four-sheet depiction of North America. One of the sheets has surprisingly good detail for the West, incorporating quite fully Lewis and Clark information. Another of the sheets has a well-detailed inset of the Northwest. Vermiglioli, in his biographical dictionary of Perugian writers, described Bartolomeo Borghi (1750-1821) as “one of the greatest geographers of Europe.” Early in his career, he was involved in the production of several cartographic works, both his own and those of others, that were primarily of local Italian interest. The present atlas, however, is considered “his most important work.” (See web reference below.) Not in Cremonini; Valerio, V. in Library of Congress, Images of the World, pp. 275-76; Valerio, V. “Italian atlases and their makers” in The Map Collector, Issue 45, pp. 11 & 14, atlas no. 25; Phillips 735; Tooley’s Dictionary of Mapmakers, A-D, p. 166; web site: http://www.senato.it/index.htm (search site under ‘borghi’ and click on first item).
Price: $7,850.00