Description

Decorative small map of Portugal with a view of Lisbon and 13 small city maps in margins. With decorative original colouring. Issued in a small travel  atlas ‘Geographisch Toneel of uitgezochte Kaarten, tot gemak der Officieren, Reisigers en Liefhebbers’. The maps from this atlas were usually folded three times and almost always show some wear in the folds.

The De la Feuilles were Huguenots and in 1683 moved to Amsterdam, as part of the mass exodus of highly-skilled craftsmen and artisans, fleeing the anti-Protestant climate of Louis XIV’s France.  The arrival of the Huguenots breathed new life into the Dutch economy and saw Amsterdam become the leading centre in many niche trades.

The De la Feuilles made most of their living from small-sized maps, such as those features in the Atlas Portatif (1701) and the Tablets Guerrières (1706), which were easily affordable to the general public.  However, Jacob also produced a number of finely engraved folio-sized maps, which today all tend to be quite scarce, as they seem to have been produced on a limited issue ‘boutique’ basis.  These include, amongst others, a map of London (1690), Malta (1696) and the present map of the Danube.  He also compiled composite atlases, including both his own maps and other mapmakers’ works and, likewise, some of his maps were included in composite atlases compiled by others.  Upon his death, in 1719, the business was continued by Paul de la Feuille.