An early 18th century table of maritime ensigns

SCHENK, Pieter.

Schouw-Park aller Scheeps-Vlaggen des geheelen Water-Waerelds... Tableau des Pavillons de Mer, qui se trouvent dans tous les lieux du Monde Aquatique... 1711.
Amsterdam, 1711. Original colour. 490 x 585mm.

Old folds with small repairs, some slight colour run.

A rare sheet illustrating 191 maritime flags from all parts of the world including, according to the title, 50 never shown before. While the majority are European, there are several flags of the Ottoman dominions in Asia and Africa, as well as Persia, India, China and Japan. Commerce is represented by the flags of both the English and Dutch East India Companies, the Guinea Company (British Slavers) and the Dutch West India Company.
The 192nd square, bottom right, is a key, showing the engraving conventions for the colours gold, white, red, blue, green, purple and grey.
Of particular importance is the flag top right, one of the fifty new additions, the so-called 'Globe Flag of New England', a blue flag with a white canton with a red cross and a globe in the first quarter. Although this is recognised as one of the earliest illustrations of a New England Flag, it seems to be a corrupted copy of the first New England flag, which had a tree rather than a globe and was red rather than blue.

MARTUCCI: New England Flags, www.vexman.net/flags/NEFlag.html.
Stock ID : 20736