[Escher, B. G.]
Java en Madoera. Blad. 1. [Unpublished map with manuscript annotations].
Unpublished, 1927. Single, oblong leaf (32.4 x 41.5 cm). Printed in colour.
This a printed map of western Java (including Batavia = Jakarta) and the (in)famous island Krakatau (Krakatoa), meant for an Atlas van Tropisch Nederland (Atlas of tropical Netherlands) that was never published. Heavily annotated in the margins, by the Dutch geologist and half-brother of the famous Dutch artist M. C. Escher, professor Berend "Beer" George Escher (1885-1967). Beer was a member of a commission overseeing maps made by and for Dutch publishers, in particular maps of the Kingdom of the Netherlands which then included the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), and Dutch West Indies (now Suriname, Aruba, Curaçao, St. Maarten, and a few smaller Caribbean Islands which are still Dutch). As noted by Beer, the map was received on 10 December 1927. In the margins, Beer noted the scale (1:7500,000) as well as several errors regarding the topography and the printing. In the lower margin is a more detailed account of the history of this map, for whom it was meant, and why it was never published. Vertical, median fold with a very short tear at its upper end; a few weak, marginal creases, otherwise very good. A unique item.