Ducatus Pomeraniae Tabula Generalis… (General Map of the Duchy of Pomerania…)

This hand-colored antique map by Frederick de Wit shows Pomerania on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The map covers the Baltic coast from Stralsund in Germany to Gdansk (Danzig) in Poland, and south to Berlin. At the top is the island of Bornholm, Denmark. Important cities of Berlin, Szczecin (Stetin), Gdansk (Dantzick), Stralsund and Wolgast are identified. Based on the earlier survey of Eilhard Lubin, the map renders the entire region in extraordinary detail. River systems, lakes, mountains, and forested areas are illustrated. The map is decorated with an impressive title cartouche featuring Cherubs holding up various crown-topped shields.

One of the major names of the Dutch Golden Age of cartography, De Wit was a prolific Dutch engraver and publisher who worked for most of his life in Amsterdam. In 1695 De Wit purchased some printing plates of the famous cartographer Blaeu’s publishing firm at auction, and began publishing a town atlas of the Netherlands. The firm of Frederick De Wit operated under the name De Witte Pascaart (The White Chart) from 1654 to 1710. Between 1660 and 1675, Frederick De Wit also published Lumen Picturae, a treatise on classical drawing as it had developed in the Baroque period. The present map includes examples of this aesthetic in the lovely illustrations that De Wit included.