Lot 33•
BLAEU (JOAN) Novus atlas, Das ist, Weld-beschreibung... Funfter Theil [Theatrum, vol. 5, Scotland], ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON'S COPY, Amsterdam, Johannes Blaeu, 1654
Amended
26 June 2019, 13:00 BST
London, Knightsbridge£6,000 - £8,000
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BLAEU (JOAN)
Novus atlas, Das ist, Weld-beschreibung... Funfter Theil [Theatrum, vol. 5, Scotland], ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON'S COPY, hand-coloured engraved architectural title with letterpress overslip, THE ARMS OF SCOTLAND HEAVILY HEIGHTENED IN GOLD, 50 double-page engraved maps mostly after Robert Gordon or Timothy Pont (of 55, several in second state with added sailing vessels), wanting Scotia Regnum and the 5 maps of Ireland, but with 2 additional earlier Blaeu maps of the British Isles and Scotland, no text, THE MAPS PRINTED ON THICK PAPER, RICHLY HAND-COLOURED AND BLANK ON THE VERSOS, 4 maps (Coila, Cuninghamia, Aberdonia and Uistus) cropped within neatlines, others shaved within plate-marks, title and first map detached, some mainly light browning and foxing throughout, nineteenth century roan gilt over heavy boards, edges gilt and gauffered, rebacked, rather worn at edges [Koeman Bl 51], folio (438 x 282mm.), Amsterdam, Johannes Blaeu, 1654
Footnotes
R.L. STEVENSON'S COPY OF THE FIRST COUNTY ATLAS OF SCOTLAND, FROM HIS LIBRARY AT VAILIMA IN SAMOA, with his label and the signature of Isobel Strong: "She's my wife's daughter, my secretary, my amanuensis, my woman-Friday on my desert island, my finder of things, my last assistance, my oasis, my staff of hope, my grove of peace, my anchor, my haven in a storm. She's Belle, I suppose" (Robert Louis Stevenson, from An Object of Pity, privately printed, Sydney, 1892).
Isobel "Belle" Osbourne Strong Field (1858–1953) was a stepdaughter of Robert Louis Stevenson, her mother being Fanny Stevenson. Belle and her family moved to Vailima, Samoa, in May 1891 with her mother and step-father, taking on the role of the author's literary assistant, transcribing his words when he was too ill to write. Isobel and her brother Lloyd wrote about Stevenson and their experiences in Samoa in Memories of Vailima (1902). It was Lloyd who, during a rainy holiday in Scotland when he was twelve, drew a map for his step-father, which inspired him to write Treasure Island. The atlas is not listed on the database of books from Stevenson's personal library accessible via the RLS website.
Provenance: "From the Library of Robert Louis Stevenson at Vailima", label on front paste-down; Isobel Strong, ownership signature on same label.
Saleroom notices
Please note that the atlas is listed in the Stevenson library database as having sold at Anderson Galleries in 1915. The entry has been now been fully updated.