Allegorical 18th-Century Engraving of America by Johann Hertel, Augsburg c.1750

1750 · Views & Engravings

Allegorical 18th-Century Engraving of America by Johann Hertel, Augsburg c.1750

Name: Allegorical 18th-Century Engraving of America by Johann Hertel, Augsburg c.1750
Brand: American Maps and Prints
SKU: BG-13806-93
Price: 390 USD
Availability: InStock

$390

€350 · dollar price at today's exchange rate

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Shipping to the United States: $51 standard, $73 express, insured and tracked.

Date: 1750
Kind: Views & Engravings
Size: 25.5 × 20.7 cm (10 × 8.1 in)
Condition: Good. The print is in excellent condition for its age on strong paper, well-preserved and minimal signs of wear. Some light toning or foxing may be present, consistent with historical prints.
Period: Colonial America
Reference: BG-13806-93

What the condition grades mean

Excellent: Bright and clean, with no faults worth mentioning.
Very good: Only light signs of age, such as faint toning.
Good: Normal signs of age for a sheet of this period: toning, some foxing, small marks or neat old repairs.
Fair: Clear faults such as staining, tears or repairs, priced to match.

Every fault we see is written in the condition note, and the whole sheet is shown uncropped in the photos.

Guaranteed original. This is an original of the period stated, not a later reproduction or print-on-demand copy. If it is ever shown to be otherwise, we refund you in full.

Shipping to the United States. Sent from our gallery in Langweer, the Netherlands, flat between boards or rolled in a tube, and fully insured. Delivery and import charges.

About this piece

America, an original copper engraving of about 1750, an allegory of the continent from a series of the four continents, published at Augsburg by Johann Georg Hertel. The plate is numbered "CV." at the upper left and "105." at the upper right, with the Latin motto "Ut copia omnium rerum, ita Deorum praecipue, quos caeca finxit pietas, abundat" under the title, and a German verse at the foot: "Abgoetterey hier im Gebrauch, die Erd sehr reich an Schaetzen auch." The draftsman's credit is at the lower left and "Hertel excud." at the lower right.

America is a seated woman in a feathered crown and skirt, with a bow and arrow at her side and a man in a feathered headdress behind her holding a spear. A crocodile or alligator lies at the lower right, and the foreground is heaped with shells, coral, a drum and other trophies. Behind them the landscape opens to palms, deer and fenced plantations at the left, and a mountain with a smoking summit, a hut and a temple with a sun at the right, with boats on a river and figures at work.

The verse gives the European verdict on America: idolatry in the customs, and a land rich in treasure.

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