Antique Map-WORLD-MAPPE MONDE-GLOBE-VIRTUES-Elwe-1792

Subject: Original decorative large engraved world map titled: 'Mappe Monde ou description du Globe … Ches I. B. Elwe. MDCCXCII.' Elwe's reissue of Jaillot’s striking world map of 1694. Probably the last published map to show California as an island. We see the world as it was known in the late 17th century, with many inaccuracies in North America and the Pacific. Australia and New Zealand are very incomplete, and there is still a suggestion of the vast southern continent. It is a beautifully decorated map, with allegorical figures and charming backgrounds surrounding the two hemispheres. Female figures representing the continents are found in the corners. Other allegorical figures represent the four virtues of justice, courage, prudence, temperance.