Kaffersche Kust, Begrypende de Sardanje-Bay en de Caap de Bonne Esperanc [sic]

Nieuwe Naauwkeurige Land- en Zee-kaart, van het voornaamste Gedeelte der James Wyld Kust, Begrypende de Sardanje-Bay en de Caap de Bonne Esperanc [sic] met alle des Zelfs Plantazien. Zeer Getrouwelyk Waargenomen en Afgetekend, to Nut der Geener Welke die Kust Trachten te Bevaaren.

[New Accurate Land and Sea Map, of the Main Part of the Kaffir Coast, Including Saldanha Bay and the Cape of Good Hope with all the Plantations. Very Faithfully Observed and Signed, for the Benefit of Anyone Who Attempts to Navigate That Coast].

 This anonymous and undated map is scarce, not well known and is important for both its historical record and its widespread influence on eighteenth century mapping of the Cape of Good Hope. It is arguably one of the most important landmarks in the mapping of the Cape of Good Hope and southern Africa.

 Recent information has lifted some of the veil of mystery: Johannes Loots is the author of this c. 1698 land and sea chart that was described in detail in the IMCoS Journal of Spring 2014, pages 13-20.

 Nieuwe Naauwkeurige Land- en Zee-Kaart is of considerable historical importance from a number of perspectives.

• It was one of the few printed maps derived directly from seventeenth century VOC manuscript maps.

• It is the first printed map to attempt to depict accurately the interior of the Cape of Good Hope inhabited by settlers up to 1700.
  • It shows the important, second eastward expansion of the colony across the sandy isthmus; shows the location of the farms (‘plantzien’ on the map) and names their settler owners. It also depicts the network of wagon-roads (a number of which were resurfaced and are now used for motor vehicles).

• It was the first printed map of the Cape of Good Hope to use the name 'Hottentot', now considered a slur, but at that time was reference to the indigenous KhoeKhoen language that was unintelligible to Europeans.

• It also showed the small villages in which these indigenous people lived.

• Within a cartouche at the bottom left, Loots provided a very concise history of the discovery and naming of the Cape of Good Hope.

• Below a grossly misshapen Saldanha Bay, Loots correctly explains that the bay was a more suitable harbour than Table Bay, but that there was a shortage of ‘sweet water’.

• It was also the first map to depict the Renosterveld (‘Renoster-Bossen at 20° South) that once was populated by numerous species of animals, such as the ‘renoster’, the Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis), which is now locally extinct.

•    Only 5% of the original area of the Renosterveld survives: a threatened part of the unique Cape Floristic Region.

• Maps based on or influenced by all or part of Loots’s map were produced by Visscher, Van der Aa, Albrizzi, Valentyn (copied by Kolbe and later by Bellin), Johannes Van Keulen II and Delarochette (followed by James Wyld I & II).

 Johannes Loots (1665 - 1726) was a publisher of sea charts, who began his career as an apprentice to Hendrick Doncker. Loots later set up his own business in a shop on Nieuwebrugsteeg in Amsterdam.

This map has outline colouring, the imprint is dark and it is in fine condition.

References:

Roger Stewart, IMCoS Journal of Spring 2014, pages 13-20.

Norwich’s Maps of Africa: map #207 (mis-attributed to Ottens).

Not in Tooley's Collectors' Guide to maps of Africa or in the Map Collectors' Series

Publisher: Amsterdam, Johannes Loots,

Date: c. 1698

Dimensions: 40 cm x 58 cm.

Estimate: $7000-$9000

Reserve: $5500