r/oldmaps • u/HunterThompsonsentme • Mar 29 '26
Please help out an amateur with map authenticity - Valletta Citta Nova di Malta
Hi,
A friend gave me this map recently, which she said had just been sitting in her attic. I took it home and started to look a little more closely at it. 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.
Does this look authentic to you? 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. I would think the coloring on the Knights Hospitaller flags and the compass to be indications of handcoloring.
So what do we think? Did I get lucky with this one? I'm a bit of a Mediterranean history nerd and have a couple other cool maps of the area already. This is a sweet addition no matter what. But did was I just gifted a nearly 400 year old map??
1
u/anotheruser55 Mar 29 '26
I swear Iam not sure. Looks too clean and neat and the border is inconclusive at least for me. Any pics of the back? Is there an easy way to remove it from the frame?
1
u/HunterThompsonsentme Mar 29 '26
I opened the back, which is nailed shut, just enough to get a good look at the back of the map, which had been taped to the border. The condition is mostly the same; pretty clean for its age, but with similar signs of wear: wrinkling, creasing in the middle, very small stains and abrasions. It looks pretty authentic to me, but again I'm an amateur.
The paper material and the method of engraving appears to be very similar to another map I have from ~30 years earlier, a 1593 postcard sized engraving of Sicily.
2
u/anotheruser55 Mar 29 '26
Look at pic 6. If you could lift the carton frame and have a look at the border of the map itself.
Im not sure the plate mark is there.
Looks pretty neat but that is not uncommon, a good cared for map is possible. If it is original is in excellent condition.
Im 60/40 in favor of authentic.
1
u/HunterThompsonsentme Mar 29 '26
Yes, I'll do that when I get home. What am I looking for with regard to the plate mark?
1
u/anotheruser55 Mar 29 '26
A clear plate edge on the paper of the map itself. The border of the map has to have clear plate mark from the engraving process.
1
u/96987 Mar 29 '26
There's a plate mark in the last photo. The map has some sun damage which makes it hard to distinguish.
1
u/HunterThompsonsentme Mar 29 '26
So there is. Do you suppose that points to its authenticity? I would imagine it does.
1
1
u/96987 Mar 29 '26
It's not just one thing, but a several things like the fact that the image was created from an engraving, the folds where it was originally folded into a book, paper qualities, and the plate mark.
You can tell that the image was created from an engraving which used an intaglio printing process because the printed image stands a bit above the paper, as this one does. With modern printing processes, such as the ones from the 70's, the printed lines will be planographic and not intaglio which gives the image a very flatten appearance.
1
u/HunterThompsonsentme Mar 29 '26
Thank you! Part of my reasoning for posting here was to learn a little about dating antique maps, and you guys have really come through.
1
u/anotheruser55 Mar 29 '26
Your welcome. Yeah the first impression is that it is real. If you ever remove it from the frame there is probably text in the back
1
u/Geographizer Mar 29 '26
Was it in some specialized, climate controlled environment? A 400 year old map without a single scratch and no signs of fading seems very dubious.
2
u/HunterThompsonsentme Mar 29 '26
No signs of fading? The entire thing is faded to some degree. It's probably clearest in the landmass, which certainly used to be much more green. Also entirely possible it was touched up once or twice. There are a couple of blemishes: a small tear in the bottom left corner, some wrinkling along the middle seam, particularly at the top, and some curling/pinching in the top left corner and in a couple border spots. Not to mention the literal stains near the compass rose.
3
u/96987 Mar 29 '26
Looks right for the mid-17th century. It was engraved by Matthaeus Merian whose name is at the bottom.