Amsterdam – Isaak Tirion, 1760
€425
18TH-CENTURY AMSTERDAM
“Amsterdams Oudste Staat, en byzondere Vergrootingen door zevenderlei Stippen en Streepen afgebeeld.” [The oldest state of Amsterdam, with distinct enlargements indicated by seven types of dots and lines]. Copper engraving published in 1760 by Isaak Tirion as part of Jan Wagenaar’s “Amsterdam, in zyne opkomst, aanwas, geschiedenissen, voorregten, koophandel, gebouwen”. Size: 30.5 × 41.5 cm.
This map shows Amsterdam in the twilight of its Golden Age, with the city’s distinctive pattern of semicircular canals and radial streets clearly visible.
At the center lies the historic old town, with the Dam, the city hall (now the Royal Palace), and the surrounding canal belt. In the east (on the left), we see shipyards and the still largely undeveloped plots of the so-called Fourth Expansion — an ambitious urban development project designed in the 17th century but not fully built out until well into the 19th century.
The map reflects a period in which Amsterdam was gradually losing its dominant position in global trade. The city’s borders, marked by the Singel canal and the fortifications, remained largely unchanged until the mid-19th century.
Jan Wagenaar (1709–1773) wrote extensively on the political, ecclesiastical, and economic history of the Netherlands. His landmark work Vaderlandsche Historie, vervattende de geschiedenissen der nu Vereenigde Nederlanden (National History, containing the histories of what are now the United Netherlands) first appeared in 1749 and brought him immediate fame.
From 1756, Wagenaar was employed by the city of Amsterdam, initially as a writer for the Amsterdamsche Courant. A shortened edition of his Vaderlandsche Historie was translated into French and German. In 1758, he was appointed official historian of the city and granted access to municipal archives. Two years later, in 1760, he was promoted to “first clerk of the secretary’s office.” In 1762, he gained access to the church archives. Between 1760 and 1768, his history of the city of Amsterdam was published in thirteen richly illustrated volumes.
Price: Euro 425,- (incl. frame)
