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Ireland Map by Herman Moll - 1723 - Lumenrare Antique Prints & Maps
Ireland Map by Herman Moll - 1723 - Lumenrare Antique Prints & Maps
Ireland Map by Herman Moll - 1723 - Lumenrare Antique Prints & Maps
Ireland Map by Herman Moll - 1723 - Lumenrare Antique Prints & Maps
Ireland Map by Herman Moll - 1723 - Lumenrare Antique Prints & Maps
Ireland Map by Herman Moll - 1723 - Lumenrare Antique Prints & Maps
Ireland Map by Herman Moll - 1723

Lumenrare Antique Prints & Maps

Ireland Map by Herman Moll - 1723

€750,00 EUR €995,00 EUR

This original 1723 engraved map of Ireland by Herman Moll is paired with the facing text leaf describing the island’s geography, people, and provinces. Moll’s clean, practical design shows the four provinces Munster, Leinster, Connaught, and Ulster – each divided into its historic counties, with towns and coastal features crisply engraved. Beneath the map appears a county index and early notes on ecclesiastical divisions.

The accompanying text opens with an ethnographic account of Ireland and its inhabitants, including the striking colonial remark that some “live at a loose, unciviliz’d rate, and are therefore termed Wild Irish.” Together, map and text capture the Enlightenment’s mixture of curiosity and control: Ireland depicted as both studied and subdued.

Historical Context

Moll’s information derived from earlier English and Dutch sources – notably John Speed (1611) and William Petty’s Down Survey (1650s) – the foundational works that fixed Ireland’s county boundaries after Tudor and Cromwellian conquest. By 1723 these lines were accepted as “official,” giving Moll’s readers a vision of Ireland fully ordered within the British realm.

Condition

Very good, with crisp impression, strong platemark, and only faint show-through from the reverse. This impression shows a slight tilt of the plate, a normal result of hand-press printing that underscores the individuality of each sheet. Minor age toning consistent with the period.

Artist

Herman Moll was a German-born engraver who rose to prominence in London’s vibrant print trade. A regular at the coffee-houses of Defoe, Dampier, and Hooke, he turned maps into both scientific tools and political statements – clear, bold, and unmistakably British in tone.

Dimensions

Sheet ≈ 8.5 × 13.5 in (21.5 × 34 cm)

This impression shows a slight tilt of the plate on the sheet, a normal feature of hand-press printing in the early 18th century. Such quirks underline the authenticity of Moll’s work, reminding us each map was individually pulled by hand.

- Follow us for updates on how maps like this one were a critical tool for the colonization of Ireland and the world. -
Title:  Map of Ireland
Publication:  The Compleat Geographer, London, 1723
Provenance:  From a 1723 example of Moll's The Compleat Geographer, London
Dimensions:  Sheet approx. 21.5 by 34 cm (8.5 by 13.5 inches)

This original print has now been placed in a private collection.
A museum-quality reproduction may be acquired, produced from a high-resolution archival scan of the original and printed on fine art cotton rag paper.
Verso pages are also available. Optional bespoke framing may be added.

Buy archival reproductions

Product Description

This original 1723 engraved map of Ireland by Herman Moll is paired with the facing text leaf describing the island’s geography, people, and provinces. Moll’s clean, practical design shows the four provinces Munster, Leinster, Connaught, and Ulster – each divided into its historic counties, with towns and coastal features crisply engraved. Beneath the map appears a county index and early notes on ecclesiastical divisions.

The accompanying text opens with an ethnographic account of Ireland and its inhabitants, including the striking colonial remark that some “live at a loose, unciviliz’d rate, and are therefore termed Wild Irish.” Together, map and text capture the Enlightenment’s mixture of curiosity and control: Ireland depicted as both studied and subdued.

Historical Context

Moll’s information derived from earlier English and Dutch sources – notably John Speed (1611) and William Petty’s Down Survey (1650s) – the foundational works that fixed Ireland’s county boundaries after Tudor and Cromwellian conquest. By 1723 these lines were accepted as “official,” giving Moll’s readers a vision of Ireland fully ordered within the British realm.

Condition

Very good, with crisp impression, strong platemark, and only faint show-through from the reverse. This impression shows a slight tilt of the plate, a normal result of hand-press printing that underscores the individuality of each sheet. Minor age toning consistent with the period.

Artist

Herman Moll was a German-born engraver who rose to prominence in London’s vibrant print trade. A regular at the coffee-houses of Defoe, Dampier, and Hooke, he turned maps into both scientific tools and political statements – clear, bold, and unmistakably British in tone.

Dimensions

Sheet ≈ 8.5 × 13.5 in (21.5 × 34 cm)

This impression shows a slight tilt of the plate on the sheet, a normal feature of hand-press printing in the early 18th century. Such quirks underline the authenticity of Moll’s work, reminding us each map was individually pulled by hand.

- Follow us for updates on how maps like this one were a critical tool for the colonization of Ireland and the world. -

What to Expect

Museum paper: High quality giclée print on matte finish. Intense color contrast. 200 gsm paper.

Restored maps: The maps are carefully digitally restored to remove imperfections due to bad conservation and natural ageing, to restore the image to its original aspect and better readability.

Classic Frame: Sturdy wooden frame with classic finish and matt white colour, suitable for all types of printing. Available in other colours on request.

Details

Engraver: Herman Moll (c.1654-1732), German-born, working in London
Title: Map of Ireland
Publication: The Compleat Geographer, London, 1723
Medium: Copperplate engraving on laid paper with facing text leaf
Provenance: From a 1723 example of Moll's The Compleat Geographer, London
Dimensions: Sheet approx. 21.5 by 34 cm (8.5 by 13.5 inches)
Condition: Very good. Crisp impression, strong platemark, faint show-through from reverse. Minor age toning consistent with the period. The slight tilt of the plate on the sheet is a normal feature of hand-press printing in the early eighteenth century.
Rarity: Moll Ireland maps from The Compleat Geographer appear regularly but examples retaining the original facing text leaf with the early ethnographic description, including the colonial reference to the "Wild Irish", are increasingly scarce.

Significance

Moll's Ireland is the eighteenth-century distillation of John Speed (1611) and William Petty's Down Survey (1650s), the foundational works that fixed Ireland's county boundaries after Tudor and Cromwellian conquest. The accompanying text, with its description of those who "live at a loose, unciviliz'd rate, and are therefore termed Wild Irish", captures the Enlightenment's mixture of curiosity and control: Ireland depicted as both studied and subdued within a fully ordered British realm.

Original Dutch

Extract, early 17th century orthography

Hibernia wort van Orpheo, Aristotele, ende Claudiano Jerna, van Juuenaele ende Mela Juuverna, van Diodoro Siculo Iris, van Eustathio Vernia oft Bernia, van de Inwoonders Erin, van de Britan­gelsche Yverdhon, ende van de Engelsche Ireland genoemt.

Doch so sijn der verscheyden opinien, van waer dese veelderhande namen haer oorsponck mochten hebben, als van een saecke die seer doncker is. Want sommighe willen Hiberniam derivieren van Hibero, een Spaenschen Overste, de welcke eerstmael ’t selve eylant met een groote machtige hoop en ghesaet volcks ingenomen heeft.

English Translation (faithful rendering)

Hibernia is called by Orpheus, Aristotle, and Claudian Jerna; by Juvenal and Mela Juverna; by Diodorus Siculus Iris; by Eustathius Vernia or Bernia; by its inhabitants Erin; by the Britons Yverdhon; and by the English Ireland.

Yet there are diverse opinions as to whence these various names may have taken their origin, for the matter is very obscure.

Some wish to derive Hibernia from Hibero, a Spanish commander, who was the first to seize this island with a great and powerful company of people.

This passage is remarkable because:

  • It merges classical geography (Greek and Roman authors’ names for Ireland) with early modern mythic ethnology (Iberian descent theory).
  • The phrase “een Spaenschen Overste” (“a Spanish commander”) is the continental print-era echo of the Milesian origin legend the same origin myth later codified in the Leabhar Gabhála Érenn (“Book of Invasions”), where the Irish descend from the sons of Míl Espáine (literally “soldier of Spain”). IN a time when we are all looking for meaning, here is an origin story that is not taught in schools in Ireland ever!
  • The author (Mercator or Hondius’s text editor) acknowledges scholarly uncertainty (“as van een saecke die seer doncker is” — “as from a matter very obscure”), showing early humanist caution while still recording oral and antiquarian lore.

Significance

This single paragraph is the only place in any printed atlas of the early 17th century that connects Ireland’s ethnogenesis to Spain.

It stands between myth and geography: not quite medieval legend, yet not yet modern ethnology. Its inclusion in the Dutch edition — and omission from the Latin — shows Hondius’s Amsterdam workshop catering to a literate mercantile audience curious about the exotic origins of nations, not just their shapes on maps.

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