Map of the World (1753)
By Leonhard Euler (1707–1783) a Swiss mathematician, physicist, astronomer, geographer, logician, and engineer who founded the studies of graph theory and topology and made pioneering and influential discoveries in many other branches of mathematics such as analytic number theory, complex analysis, and infinitesimal calculus. He introduced much of modern mathematical terminology and notation, including the notion of a mathematical function. He is also known for his work in mechanics, fluid dynamics, optics, astronomy, and music theory.
Hand-coloured copperplate engraving from his ‘School Atlas’. Commissioned by the Royal Prussian Academy of Science. This map was based on Johan Christoph Rhode’s version. The cartouche is composed of highly decorative scrollwork, clouds and foliage.
Due to it being issued to schools, very few of these maps have survived.
641mm x 522mm (framed)
R12,500
This 1753 world map, titled Mappa Mundi Generalis, is historically fascinating because it represents a direct intersection between pure mathematics, Enlightenment cartography, and state-sponsored scientific education.
Key Historical & Cartographic Aspects
Authored by Leonhard Euler: While world maps were typically designed by commercial cartographers, this map was published under the direction of Leonhard Euler (1707–1783)—widely considered one of the greatest mathematicians in human history. Euler served as Director of Mathematics at the Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences in Berlin during this period.
Commissioned for Enlightenment Education: The map was produced for Euler’s Geographischer Atlas (or "School Atlas"), commissioned by Frederick the Great’s Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences in Berlin. Unlike expensive luxury atlases intended for private aristocratic libraries, these maps were engineered specifically as modern educational tools for Prussian schools. Because school maps endured heavy daily classroom use, survival rates for intact copies are exceptionally low today.
Collaboration with Johann Christoph Rhode: The geographical layout was drawn under Euler’s supervision by Johann Christoph Rhode (1713–1786), the official geographer of the Berlin Academy of Sciences. Rhode updated the coastlines and landmasses using the latest scientific observations reported to the Academy.
Inclusion of Scientific Tables & Pendulum Data: True to Euler’s mathematical background, the map includes extensive scientific data flanking the decorative cartouche at the bottom:
Table of Degrees & Latitude: Mathematical calculations accounting for the curvature of the Earth.
Pendulum Observations (Observationes Longitudinis Penduli): Astronomical and physical observations tracking how pendulum swing speeds varied near the Equator versus northern latitudes—a critical 18th-century scientific experiment used to measure the exact flattening of the Earth at its poles.
18th-Century Geographic Curiosities:
Unmapped Pacific Northwest: The coastline of North America above California remains blank and unresolved, predating the exploratory voyages of Captain James Cook and George Vancouver.
Pre-Cook Australia (Hollandia Nova): Australia is depicted according to 17th-century Dutch discovery lines, connected to Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) and lacking its eastern coastline.
