Cornwall Published 1700
ORIGINAL MAP of Cornwall by Valk & Schenk c1700 Original, copper plate antique
Copper Plate engraved
Pieter Schenk (Dutch, 1645-1715) and Gerard Valk (Dutch, ca. 1650-1726)
Amsterdam , P. Schenk and G. Valk, ca. 1700
Engraving with original hand colouring, good margins
Original engraved Copperplate Map excellent condition with hand outline and wash colour. Centre fold as issued, blank to verso. two small verso conservation reinforcements near centre fold
Approx engraved area: 16" x 20" (404mm x 527mm)
Notes: Valk and Schenk maps are derived from the Jansson plates, which the partners acquired in 1694. Gerard Valk (September 30, 1652 - October 21, 1726) was a Dutch engraver, globe maker, and map publisher active in Amsterdam in the latter half of the 17th century. He studied mathematics, navigation, and cartographer under Pieter Maasz Smit. He later worked in London for the map sellers Christopher Browne and David Loggan. In 1687 he established his own firm in Amsterdam in partnership with Petrus (Pieter) Schenk, who married his sister in the same year. They published under the imprint of Valk and Schenk. Initially they published maps and atlas, acquiring the map plates of Jodocus Hondius in 1694. Later, in 1701 they moved into the former Hondius offices where they began producing globes. Valk and Schenk quickly became known for producing the best globes in the Netherlands, a business on which they held a near monopoly for nearly 50 years. He joined the bookseller's guide in 1711. Around the same time
Gerard introduced his son, Leonard, to the business. Leonard was nowhere near as sophisticated a cartographer as his father and ultimately, through neglect, lostmuch the firm's prestige. After his death the firm was taken over by his widow Maria.