Danubii cum Adiacentibus Regnis, nec non totius Graeciae et Archipelagi

The Danube, with the Adjoining Kingdoms, as well as all of Greece and the Archipelego

Johann Baptist Homann

Nuremberg, c. 1715-1725

This is a handsome early 18th-century copper-engraved map by Johann Baptist Homann, one of the most influential commercial cartographers of the Enlightenment. Issued from Homann's Nuremberg workshop, the map presents the Danube basin alongside the Balkans, Greece, Anatolia, and the Aegean Archipelego - a region that sat at the crossroads of empires, trade, and war. This sheet captures Europe at a moment when the Danube was not merely a river but a political spine - linking the Holy Roman Empire, the Balkans, and the Eastern Mediterranean.

In addition to the engraved content, the map bears period manuscript annotations added by a former owner. These markings appear to have been applied in iron gall ink, the standard writing ink of the 18th and early 19th centuries. Such annotations suggest the map was actively studied rather than merely displayed, adding a layer of human engagement that deepens the object's historical narrative.

The engraving is dense and confident, with crisp coastlines, finely articulated river systems, and subtle original hand color distinguishing political regions. The allegorical cartouche at lower left - classical figure with lyre, Pegasus in flight - anchors the composition in the intellectual optimism of the period, when geography was both science and storytelling. The Latin title and period toponyms ("Hodie Album," "Archipelagus", etc.) relfect contemporary scholarship and shifting borders in Southeastern Europe and the Ottoman Empire.

Details

Title: Fluviorum in Europa Principis Danubii cum Adiacentibus Regnis, nec non totius Graeciae et Archipelagi

Date: c. 1716–1725

Place: Nuremberg

Maker: Johann Baptist Homann

Medium: Copper engraving with original hand color on laid paper

Subject: Danube River Basin, Balkans, Greece, Aegean Archipelago

Dimensions: 23.5 × 20 inches

Condition: Good. Stabilized centerfold tear extending approximately halfway up the sheet; original hand color; iron gall ink and pencil annotations indicating historical use; firmly mounted to early board; no active losses.

Framing: Unframed

Provenance: Private collection

Portfolio: Blackwell Portfolio — Working Cartography