18th Century Seutter Map of North and South America

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A RARE FIND This antique map was purchased at the famous Manhattan land mark department store B. Altman's that closed in the 80's. The price of the map back then was $125 (80's) . This is a beautiful hand painted map of South and North America signed by Albrecht Carl Seutter son of Georg Matthäus who was one of the most important of the German cartographers and printed in Augsburg . (Some history below). The map itself is 10.5" x 9.5" and framed. With the frame the dimensions are 17.5" x 15.5" The frame itself is made of beautiful wood. T are some scuffs and scratches on the wood. The back of the picture frame has the department store price tag of $125 on the upper right and on the lower left t are two labels: 1.Hand-Coloured Print G.B. - Florence Made in Italy 2. The other label is: Real wood. Made in Florence I assume the print is an original becasue of it's origin and the kind of merchendise B. Altman's sold. Map circa would be around 1740. I am including many detailed photos of the map with its various inscriptions. If you need more photos let me know. Background and History Matthias Seutter 1678-1757 Matthias Seutter was born in Augsburg in Southern Germany in 1678. He began as an engraving apprentice for Johann Baptist Homann. In 1707 he started his own cartographic printing company in Augsburg . Matthias Seutter produced maps (about 500), globes (starting in 1710) and atlases (starting in 1728). Seutters maps are quite similar to Homann's, and were famous for their details, color, and decorative cartouches. After dedicating his large atlas to Karl VI, Seutter was awarded the title of "Kaiserlicher Geograph". He became the official imperial geographer of Charles VI.After his death, the business was continued by his son Albrecht Karl (1722-1762) and his son-in-laws. One of his daughters, Euphrosine married the cartographer Tobias Conrad Lotter from Augsburg who, after the death of Seutter's son, Albrecht Carl, became the successor to Seutter and a famous mapmaker on his own. Conrad Tobias Lotter and G.B.Probst. Around 1757/58 Lotter became the sole owner of the company. He removed the name of Seutter from the original plates and replaced it by his own. B. Altman's NY TIMES Published: Excerpt from Article December 5, 1985 : MANHATTAN 'S MANY DEPARTMENT STORES OFFER AN ARRAY OF GIFTS FOR THE HOME The eighth floor has treasures such as handsomely framed antique maps (starting at $100 framed, $35 unframed) and photographs and historical documents autographed by such people as Abraham Lincoln, Vivien Leigh and Groucho Marx. Prices depend on rarity. A framed, autographed photo of Dame Margot Fonteyn, for example, is $135; others are higher. Gimbels, Broadway at 33d Street , . /gst/fullpage.html?res=9D00EFDD163BF936A35751C1A963948260 History of B. Altman's : B. Altman and Company was a New York City -based department store founded in 1865 by Benjamin Altman. It officially closed on December 31, 1989. One of the first American department stores to open out-of-town branches. Its block-long main flagship store was at Fifth Avenue 1906-1912 and 34th Street in Midtown Manhattan . Benjamin Altman founded his first store on Third Avenue and 10th Street in 1865 which later relocated and expanded to 19th Street and Sixth Avenue . In 1906, the store relocated to the block long structure on Fifth Avenue running from 34th to 35th Streets which was later expanded to include the Madison Avenue block front. When Benjamin Altman died he left no heirs , and besides his art collection going to the Metropolitan Museum , his stock in the stores was placed in a foundation, the Altman Foundation . In 1985, due to changing IRS laws the Foundation sold the stores to an investor group which included members of the Gucci family and two principals from financial firm, Deloitte & Touche. In 1987 an Australian real estate development company purchased... read more

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