North sea – Noordzee – Pas-caert Van de Zee cussen van Engeland (..).; J. van Keulen – 1708

Description

Decorative nautical chart of the east coast of England. With decorative cartouche by Romeyn de Hooghe Shows the east coast of Norfolk and Lincolnshire with Norwich, Boston and Kingston Upon Hull. Decorated with loxodromes, two compass roses and a title cartouche. In addition to sandbanks and anchorages, water depths are also given.

Decoratieve zeekaart van de oostkust van Engeland. Met decoratief cartouche door Romeyn de HoogheToont de oostkust van Norfolk en Lincolnshire met Norwich, Boston en Kingston Upon Hull. Versierd met loxodromen, twee windrozen en een titelcartouche. Naast zandbanken en ankerplaatsen worden ook waterdieptes gegeven.

Details

• Type: carthography, sea chart, 2th state
• Title: Pas-caert Vande Zee cussen van Engeland van Orfordness tot aen Flamborger Hoost (..). Nr. 22
• Publication: 1708 (1e state 1682)
• Technique: copper engraving
• Carthographer: Claes Jansz Vooght
• Engraver: Jan Luyken a.o.
• Published in: De Nieuwe Groote Lichtende Zee-Fakkel (..) by Heirs Johannes van Keulen in Amsterdam
• Size print:  51.5 x 57.5 cm (20.3 x 22.44 inches)
• Size paper: 53.5 x 61.0 cm (21.0 x 24.0 inches)
• Verso: blank
• ID: 7210Z
• Source: Koe IV Keu 38A [46*]

Condition: B

Good, given age. Centrefold as issued. General age-related toning and/or occasional minor defects from handling. Sharp print. Some spots, small folds and some perforation in the margins.

Goed, gegeven de leeftijd. Middenvouw als uitgegeven. Scherpe afdruk. Enkele vlekken, kleine vouwen en wat perforatie in de marges.

Backgrounds

Van Keulen publishing house

The Van Keulens were a family of chartmakers and publishers. The firm, In de Gekroonde Lootsman (In the Crowned Pilot), was founded in 1678 by Johannes van Keulen (1654-1715). Van Keulen originally registered his business as a vendor of books and instruments (specifically cross-staffs). In 1680, however, he gained a privilege from the States of Holland and West Friesland for the publication of pilot guides and sea atlases.

In that year, van Keulen released his Zee-Atlas (Sea Atlas), which secured him a name in the competitive maritime publishing market. In 1681, he published the first volume of Nieuwe Lichtende Zee-Fakkel (New Shining Sea Torch). This would be the first of an eventual five volumes originally published between 1680 and 1684. A sixth volume was added in 1753. The Zee-Fakel won van Keulen lasting fame. The atlas had charts compiled by Claes Jansz Vooght and artwork from Jan Luyken. It proved immensely popular and was reprinted until 1783. There were translations in French, English, Spanish, and Italian.

The late-seventeenth century was an auspicious time to enter the maritime chart business. Previous industry leaders had either closed shop, died, or retired, leaving space for a new competitor. Van Keulen proceeded to buy up the stock and privileges of several maritime publishing firms; the most notable was the stock of Hendrik Doncker, acquired in 1693.

Johannes’ son, Gerard (1678-1726) took over the business upon his father’s death. Gerard was a skilled engraver and mathematician. His talents were noticed, as in 1706 he was named as Hydrographer to the Dutch East India Company (VOC).

In turn, Gerard’s son Johannes II (1704-1770) came to run the shop. He was also tied to the VOC, and his role as their chartmaker allowed his charts to be considered as quasi-official government documents. It is with access to formerly clandestine VOC geographic knowledge that Johannes the Younger was able to add a sixth volume to the Zee-Fakkel, which covered the East Indies. Johannes also continued to sell instruments, including the recently-invented Hadley’s Quadrant from 1744.

When Johannes II died in 1770, his widow ran the business in his stead, aided by her two sons, Cornelis Buys (1736-1778) and Gerard Hulst (1733-1801). Now a century old, the family business had extended to include an anchor factory. After Cornelis died in 1778, Gerard took on the management of the firm alone. He oversaw the introduction of sextants to their inventory and published the Dutch Nautical Almanac beginning in 1788. Annual editions appeared until 1885. Gerard also served as an original member of the Dutch Commission for Longitude at Sea from 1787.

Gerard’s widow ran the business for nine years after his death, when their son, Johannes Hulst, started to lead the firm in 1810. After his death in 1844, the firm passed out of family hands and into the control of Jacob Swert, a skilled cartographer who had worked for the business for two decades. He passed the work to his son, another Jacob, in 1866. By the mid-nineteenth century, the conversion from sail to steam had diminished the size of the market for charts. Fewer sailors needed fewer maps, charts, and instruments. In 1885, after 207 years in business, In de Gekroonde Lootsman closed its doors and auctioned its stock.

Johannes van Keulen (1654 – 1715) was een Nederlandse uitgever en de grondlegger van het bekende uitgevershuis in Amsterdam. De uitgeverij zou zich ruim twee eeuwen richten op het publiceren van zeeatlassen. De belangrijkste uitgave is ‘De Groote Ligtende Zee-Fakkel’. De eerste editie uit 1684 bevatte vijf delen. Van Keulen vestigde zich in 1679 aan de oostzijde van de Nieuwe Brug te Amsterdam. Hij werkte samen met de cartograaf Claes Jansz Vooght. Hij kocht koperplaten uit de nalatenschappen van Joan Blaeu en Hendrick Doncker. Van Keulens werk werd voortgezet door zijn zoon, Gerard van Keulen (1678-1726). Zijn kleinzoon, Johannes II van Keulen (1704-1755), was degene die deel 6 van de atlas met kaarten van de Aziatische wateren publiceerde. Achterkleinzoon Gerard Hulst van Keulen (1733-1801) hield zich bezig met de laatste versie van de Zee-Fakkel. Vanaf 1801 werd de naam van Van Keulen nog steeds gebruikt: Wed. G. Hulst van Keulen. In 1885 werd het bedrijf definitief opgeheven.