Valentijn — Philippines Complete Map c.1726
Valentijn — Philippines Complete Map c.1726
Valentijn's large-format complete map of the Philippines — one of the most accurate European charts of the archipelago produced in the early 18th century, drawn from VOC sources otherwise jealously guarded as trade secrets. The map shows Luzon, Mindanao, the Visayas, and the smaller islands with remarkable detail. An anchor piece for any Philippines, Southeast Asian, or Dutch colonial cartography collection.
About François Valentijn (1666–1727)
François Valentijn was a Dutch Reformed missionary and VOC (Dutch East India Company) chaplain who spent over 16 years in the East Indies, primarily in the Moluccas. On his return to the Netherlands, he compiled the most comprehensive European account of Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean world produced up to that time.
About the Work
Oud en Nieuw Oost-Indiën ("Old and New East Indies," Dordrecht & Amsterdam, 1724–1726) is a five-volume work totaling over 5,000 pages, richly illustrated with maps, views, natural history plates, and ethnographic engravings. Valentijn had privileged access to VOC archives and produced maps of regions — the Philippines, the Moluccas, Mauritius, Ceylon, Manila Bay — that were otherwise jealously guarded as company trade secrets. His maps include the earliest printed view of Australia's Rottnest Island.
Scarcity & Market Context
Complete Oud en Nieuw Oost-Indiën sets appear at auction only a few times per decade and sell in the $15,000–$35,000+ range. Individual Valentijn maps — particularly his Philippines, Manila Bay, and Mauritius charts — are extremely scarce on the private market, often with only one or two examples available at specialist dealers worldwide at any given time. They represent the most accurate European cartography of the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia produced before the late 18th-century British surveys.
Institutional Holdings
Complete copies at the Koninklijke Bibliotheek (The Hague), the Rijksmuseum, the British Library, the Library of Congress, and major university collections specializing in Dutch colonial history and East Asian cartography.
Dimensions
Sheet approximately 14 × 22 inches
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