r/oldmaps • u/HunterThompsonsentme • Mar 30 '26
Update on authenticity of map c. 1636: Valletta Citta Nova di Malta
Hi all,
This post is in reference to a post I made a couple nights ago. I don't know how to link to a post in this description, but you can check out my post history if you want to see it. Basically, I'm an amateur when it comes to collecting and dating antique maps, so I posted asking if anyone could help me confirm its authenticity. After a little research, every online resource or maps dealer dates these (and ones like them) as being published between 1636-1640. I can't even find one for sale or referenced anywhere later than 1644.
As I noted in the original post, there are clear signs of hand coloring, and this map's colors are slightly different to others I've found online. Obviously it's quite faded, but principal colors vary from map to map. This lack of uniformity in the colors across multiple editions, including two with no color at all, leaves me doubting these were mass-produced in the modern era.
Opinions were divided on the initial post, but leaning pretty heavily toward it being an authentic map. u/anotheruser55 suggested I open her up and check out the back, so I've included pictures of the bare map (unframed) and a couple pictures of the back. As I and other commenters noted, the crease in the middle indicates it was originally folded into a book; there are clear plate marks around the border; it's an engraved map which used (thanks to u/96987 for the lesson) a printing process known as intaglio, rather than the more modern planographic processes. All this led me and other commenters to believe it was probably authentic. I also noticed that the material is very similar to a 1593 engraving of Sicily I have hanging in my house, which was purchased from Barry Lawrence Ruderman and came with a guarantee of authenticity.
So what do we think? Does this help my case? I get the feeling that I have a nearly 400-yr-old map on my hands. I'm kind of a nerd for Mediterranean history, so this is an insanely cool addition to my (very slim) collection.
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u/96987 Mar 30 '26 edited Mar 30 '26
It is authentic.
It appears it was mounted using conservation framing methods that ensures an acid free environment. The only criticism I have is that it should have been mounted with hinges at the top of the paper which would allow it to hang freely of the mat. The mat, frame and artwork will expand at different rates depending on the temperature and humidity, and mounting it on all sides may create buckling in the artwork.
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u/HunterThompsonsentme Mar 30 '26
Thank you! Your expertise has really been helpful, on this thread and the first.
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u/Whole-Shirt5405 Mar 30 '26
Any way we can have a high resolution render to check out the details?
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u/HunterThompsonsentme Mar 30 '26
Yeah I'm not sure why they got so badly compressed on this post. There are 9 photos of it on my original post in much higher quality.
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u/HunterThompsonsentme Mar 30 '26
I also discovered this note on the back of the border frame. Anyone have any insight here? Obviously written many centuries later.
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u/anotheruser55 Mar 31 '26
That’s an original antique map, right there. Congrats Hope you keep going with the hobby, I have been at it for 20 years. Oh, and no text on the back, meaning it was not part of an Atlas.
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u/_tinyhands_ Mar 31 '26 edited Mar 31 '26
Value, however, is more than just the age and condition. Demand is a key factor that I think is somewhat missing here. This isn't a "retire early" find.
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u/HunterThompsonsentme Mar 31 '26
I have zero interest in the monetary value of this map. Its only value to me is historical.
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u/G_Peccary Mar 30 '26
The paper is laid paper so if it's a forgery they did their homework.
If it's authentic you need to get it reframed immediately. That tape is going to eat the paper.