Antonio ZATTA
Antonio Zatta was perhaps the leading Italian map-maker working in the 1770’s and 1780’s, based in Venice. His major publication was the “Atlante Novissimo ...”, a four volume atlas of the world. This was published in four volumes between 1775 and 1785 in Venice with some 240 maps engraved by G.Pitteri, G.V.Pasquali and G.Zuliani.
Zatta was also responsible for “Le Colonie Unite Dell’America Settentrie ...”. This was a 12 sheet map that sometimes appeared in the “Atlante Novissimo” but was also published separately. The map is Zatta’s Italian version of a very important map, prepared by the Englishman John Mitchell, first published in 1755 and re-issued up to the War of Independence. Mitchell has been described as “the most important map in the history of American cartography” (Schwartz & Ehrenberg, “Mapping of America”, p.159). As a consequence of the Mitchell map’s success, numbers of publishers issued copies of the map for their respective domestic markets. Zatta’s version was prepared to capitalise on interest in the War of Independence, and in places contains notes relating to early events in the war. Although ostensibly a wall-map, each of the sheets has its own border, and title, and the original intention does not seem to have been to join the sheets.
Adam Friedrich ZURNER
Adam Friedrich Zurner (1679-1742) was a geographer, cartographer and publisher. He produced a number of maps around 1700 which appeared in composite atlases and others such as the “Atlas Contractus” published by Petrus Schenk in c.1709 or in Valk and Schenk's “Atlas Sylloge” of the same year. Zurner also surveyed the Grossenhain district of Saxony.
