Plan der Hochfürstl. Residenz- und Haubt-Stadt Cassel in Nieder-Hessen nebst dem Hochfürstl Lust-Garten auf der Aue.

Title

Plan der Hochfürstl. Residenz- und Haubt-Stadt Cassel in Nieder-Hessen nebst dem Hochfürstl Lust-Garten auf der Aue.

Description

Splendid old coloured city map of Kassel with the pleasure garden on the Fulda Island. Below a general view of Kassel with city index. Furthermore a partial map with the surroundings of Kassel.

c. 1742

Artist

Homann Erben

Johann Babtiste Homann (1664-1724) was born in Oberkammlach, the Electorate of Bavaria. Although educated at a Jesuit school, and preparing for an ecclesiastical career, he eventually converted to Protestantism and from 1687 worked as a civil law notary in Nuremberg. He soon turned to engraving and cartography; in 1702 he founded his own publishing house. Homann acquired renown as a leading German cartographer, and in 1715 was appointed Imperial Geographer by Emperor Charles VI. Giving such privileges to individuals was an added right that the Holy Roman Emperor enjoyed. In the same year he was also named a member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences in Berlin. Of particular significance to cartography were the imperial printing privileges (Latin: privilegia impressoria). These protected for a time the authors in all scientific fields such as printers, copper engravers, map makers and publishers. They were also very important as a recommendation for potential customers. In 1716 Homann published his masterpiece Grosser Atlas ueber die ganze Welt (Grand Atlas of all the World). Numerous maps were drawn up in cooperation with the engraver Christoph Weigel the Elder, who also published Siebmachers Wappenbuch. Homann died in Nuremberg. He was succeeded by the Homann heirs company, which was in business until 1848. The company was known as Homann Erben, Homanniani Heredes, or Heritiers de Homann abroad.

Historical Description

Kassel is a city located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. The city's name is derived from the ancient Castellum Cattorum, a castle of the Chatti, a German tribe that had lived in the area since Roman times. In the early 19th century, the Brothers Grimm lived in Kassel. They collected and wrote most of their fairy tales there. Having sided with Austria in the Austro-Prussian War to gain supremacy in Germany, the principality was annexed by Prussia in 1866. The Prussian administration united Nassau, Frankfurt and Hesse-Kassel into the new Prussian province of Hesse-Nassau. Kassel ceased to be a princely residence, but soon developed into a major industrial centre, as well as a major railway junction. Henschel & Son, the largest railway locomotive manufacturer in Germany at the end of the nineteenth century, was based in Kassel.