Egypt, Alexandria Dapper/Van Meurs, 1686, De Stadt Alexandrie of Scanderik / La Ville Alexandria ou Scanderik

Large very searched for copper engraved town plan in bird´s eye perspective from the city of Alexandria in Egypt, with title and index in Dutch and French.

The city is shown from the north, looking across the coast and its harbours, towards the city. Various key structures are shown, accompanied by a lettered key in Dutch and English in the top left and right corners of the plate. Most notable is the famous Pharos, one of the seven ancient wonders, though its inclusion is clearly romantic, as the final part of the lighthouse was removed in AD 1480, the stones being recycled in the construction of the Citadel of Qaitbay.

Published in 1686 in Amsterdam in the French edition of Olfert Dapper´s "Naukeurige Beschrijvingen der Afrikaensche gewesten" & "Naukeurige beschrijvinge der Afrikaensche Eylanden".

Olfert Dapper’s ‘Description of Africa’ was an ethnographic book which offered a detailed description of the parts of Africa known to Europeans in the mid-seventeenth century. Despite the work being regarded as one of the most important and detailed seventeenth-century publications on Africa, Dapper himself never actually visited the continent. Instead, he relied on the reports of Jesuit missionaries and Dutch explorers. The ‘Description of Africa’ was first published in 1668 by Jacob van Meurs in Amsterdam

Good condition. Some reinforcements in the central fold without impact on the image. Strong paper with watermark, clear print. Very nice hand coloring.

Image 26x35cm, page 35,5x42cm