Europe - Austria

Type: Engraving on copper; Support: Thick wove paper with partial watermark, well visible in transmitted light; Condition: Excellent inking, contemporaneous coloration, good state of preservation with slight traces of foxing and browning, signs of aging, all as shown in the photo; Shipping: INSURED by BARTOLINI/DPD courier, declare any damage at time of pickup; Provenance: From a private collection; Franz Johann Joseph von Reilly (1766–1820) was a central figure in late 18th-century Austrian cartography. Born in Vienna, he inherited a considerable fortune that allowed him to abandon a unsatisfactory civil service career to devote himself entirely to publishing and the production of maps and atlases. Here are the most relevant aspects of his career: Great Works Schauplatz der fünf Theile der Welt (1789–1806): It is his most ambitious project, a monumental universal atlas. He published about 830 maps, issuing a new plate almost every week for 17 years. Despite the ambitious title ("Scene of the Five Parts of the World"), the work remained focused almost exclusively on Europe due to interruptions caused by the Napoleonic Wars. Grosser Deutscher Atlas (1794–1796): This work is historically significant for being the first atlas of the world entirely produced and published in Austria. Wappen-Tafeln: Reilly did not limit himself to geographical maps; he produced numerous “armorial plates” (such as the one you shared), which described in detail the complex dynastic and territorial ties of the era.

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