Antique Italian Map of Turkey in Asia by Buffier, 1780s

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This small antique map of Turkey in Asia is titled Turchia nell Asia antica e moderna and comes from an … Read more This small antique map of Turkey in Asia is titled Turchia nell Asia antica e moderna and comes from an Italian edition of Claude Buffier's Geografia universale, published in Venice in the second half of the eighteenth century. The page reference Pag. 249 is engraved in the upper left margin. The map follows the French model closely but with Italian names throughout: Mar Negro, Mare Caspio, Natolia, Armenia, Georgia, Aleppo, Damasco, Gerusalemme, Bagdad o sia Babilonia and Bassora, with Arabia Deserta, Arabia Petrea and Arabia Felice in the south. The border is graduated and coloured in yellow, and the frontiers are marked in pink, green and yellow by hand. Claude Buffier's Géographie universelle was one of the most successful teaching geographies of the eighteenth century, and Italian editions under the title Geografia universale were published in Venice, notably by Francesco Pitteri, with the maps newly engraved and their names translated into Italian. These small maps were bound into the text at the relevant chapter, which explains the page reference engraved in the upper margin. A comparable copy is recorded as engraved by Giovanni Petroschi for the Pitteri edition of 1788. The Italian lettering gives this little map extra interest beside its French counterparts, and it makes a charming framed piece for a collector of the Ottoman Empire, Syria or Iraq. Beyond its decorative appeal, a map of this kind records the place names, routes and political divisions known to travellers, merchants and scholars of its day, which gives it lasting value as a historical document. The sheet is in good condition for its age, with faint fold lines, uneven edges and some faint offsetting in the lower margin; the map itself is clean. This is an original antique map, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed. Any framed or interior images are shown for presentation and inspiration only, unless the listing explicitly states that the item is sold framed. See less