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Similar and Differing – Mapping the Lower Danube... 611
was discovered in the custody of Bibliothèque nationale in paris. It was
published at some time between 1738 and 1744, being advertised by a paris
printing business bearing the name of a well-famed cartographer, Jean-
Baptiste Bourgouignon d’Anville (1697–1782). his map is almost (but
not totally) identical with the 1737 Amsterdam map of Moldavia: A small
number of inversions, added frontier lines in the West, corrected spellings
can be made out 38 , and – most visible – the elegance of style, proving the
author’s superior craftsmanship. especially the inversions are evidence that
the 1737 map had been available to the cartographer at work in 1738/44. 39
Why shouldn’t d’Anville use well-known ways of hiding his sources, ways
approved of ever since the 17 th century? 40 even though a cartouche and
imprint are lacking, there is an interesting subtitle to this map, proving the
author’s proximity to Cantemir’s autograph. It reads:
MolDAVIAe prInCIpAtuS Delineante principe DEMETRIO
CANTEMIRI // Districtus dicitur Moldavice Cinutul, quod voci
Gallicae tenementi respondet. 41
And in romanian:
harta Moldovei de D. Cantemir, copia lui d’Anville (paris 1738). 42
Another single map of Moldavia Septemtrionale published 1770 in
“paris chez le rouge” also mentions Cantemir as a prime source, and
referring to polish maps as well. It reads:
CArte De lA MolDAVIe/Dresséé sur celle du Prince
Cantemir. 43
this map presents, as announced in the title-line, the northern half
of Moldavia. It only partly resembles the 1737 Amsterdam and 1738/44
38 EŞANU – EŞANU, ibidem, 114, 120.
39 See e.g. “Districtus Chotini”; “Districtus Budzak sive Bassarabiae”; “pontus
euxinus Moldavice/Mare nigra” (1737) – “Chotini Distr.”; “Budzak vel Bassarabiae
Distr.”; “Mare nigra Moldavice” (1738/44), Appendises 1 and 2.
40 See quotes by Janzs Blaeu in: KENING, Johannes: Willem Janzs. Blaeu. A
Biography and History of His Work as a Cartographer and Publisher. Amsterdam 1973,
112, 114 f.
41 Map attached to Dimitrie CANTEMIR: Descrierea Moldovei. ed. HOLBAN,
Maria. Bucureşti 1972. see Appendix no 2.
42 o EŞANu – EŞANu: Descrierea Moldovei, back cover. See Appendix n 3.
43 See Appendix no. 4. reproduction in: www.nada.kth.se ~ ovidiu\maps
(03.09.2010).