Rare Spanish Pocket Atlas of Bohemia
This rare, compact atlas presents detailed maps of Bohemia during the Seven Years War, along with a plan of Prague.
The atlas was published by Tomas Lopez de Vargas Machuca, generally considered the most important maker of maps and atlases during the Spanish Enlightment period. Lopez would, during his career, publish numerous wall maps, large and small format World and Spanish atlases, as well as a remarkable miniature atlas of Spain's colonies in the America.
Produced during the height of the Seven Years' War, this atlas provided geographical intelligence pertinent to the conflict between Empress Maria Theresa of Austria and King Frederick II of Prussia. The finely engraved hand-colored maps offer a vivid portrayal of the Bohemian terrain and fortifications, crucial for military strategy and historical scholarship.
Compiled during the turbulent period of the Seven Years' War, the work offers a meticulous pocket sized depiction of Bohemian territories and their administrative divisions, crucial for understanding the strategic landscapes of the era. Included maps and plans are as follows:
- Praga. Plano de Praga 1757.
- Bohemia. Carta General de la Bohemia por Lopez 1757.
- Praga y Slany (Bohemia). Círculos de Praga y Schlan por Lopez 1757.
- Rakovnik (Bohemia). Círculo de Rakonitz por Lopez 1757.
- Saatz (Bohemia). Círculo de Saatz 1757.
- Leitmeritz (Bohemia). Círculo de Leitmeritz 1757.
- Buntzel (Bohemia). Círculo de Buntzel 1757.
- Konigingratz (Bohemia). Círculo de Konigingratz 1757.
- Chrudim (Bohemia). Círculo de Chrudim.1757.
- Czaslau (Bohemia). Círculo Czaslau 1757.
- Bechin (Bohemia). Círculo Bechin 1757.
- Kaurzim (Bohemia). Círculo Kaurzim 1757.
- Moldau (Bohemia). Círculo Moldau 1757.
- Prachen (Bohemia. Círculo de Prachen 1757.
- Beraun (Bohemia). Círculo de Beraun por Lopez 1757.
- Pilsen (Bohemia). Círculo de Pilsen 1757.
- Elnbogen y Egra (Bohemia). Círculos de Elnbogen y de Egra 1757.
- Črumau (Bohemia) Distrito de Crumau 1757.
- Praga (Bohemia). Plano de la Batalla dada el dia 6 de Mayo 1757 cerca de Praga 1757.
Rarity
The atlas is rare on the market. OCLC locates only a single example in a U.S. institution, that at the Newberry Library.
Tomás López de Vargas Machuca (1730-1802) was one of Spain’s most prominent cartographers in the eighteenth century. He was born in Toledo but studied at the Colegio Imperial in Madrid, where he focused on mathematics, grammar, and rhetoric. Along with a small group of colleagues, in 1752 the Spanish government sent López for training in Paris with the renowned geographer Jean Baptiste Bourguignon d’Anville. When he returned to Spain he was named Geógrafo de los dominios de Su Magestad and put in charge of the geographic collections of Charles III. He published many maps, including his fascinating maps of the Americas, and a variety of geography manuals. Some of his most famous maps are of the Iberian Peninsula, part of his large project to create a majestic atlas of Spain. Unfinished in his lifetime, López's children published the Atlas Geográfico de España (Geographical Atlas of Spain) in 1804. It was republished in 1810 and 1830.