Scandinavia Map 1838 Marmocchi Peninsula & Denmark Print with Flag - Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Copenhagen

This rare map of Scandinavia, titled La Penisola di Scandinavia ed il Regno di Dinamarca, was made by Francesco Costantino Marmocchi and published in Florence in 1838. The sheet is embellished with an ornate flag, which gives it a decorative note, and it covers the Scandinavian peninsula, with the kingdoms of Sweden and Norway, together with the Kingdom of Denmark named in the title. The Italian lettering and the Florentine imprint make it an unusual find, since most antique maps of the north on the market come from Dutch, English or German presses. Marmocchi lived from 1805 to 1858. It is a decorative sheet that sets the north beside a bright flag in the manner of Italian atlas work of the 1830s.

The title joins the peninsula and the Danish kingdom on one sheet, which reflects the way that the north was grouped by geographers of the day: a great peninsula shared by two crowned kingdoms, and a small neighboring realm of islands and the Jutland coast. In 1838 Norway was joined with Sweden under a single crown, and the flag on the sheet is a small reminder of the political identity of the region. The sheet shows how an Italian atlas of the period pictured the whole of northern Europe for readers in the south. It is a fine map for a reader of Scandinavian history.

Those who like Italian atlas maps, a family with roots in Sweden, Norway or Denmark, or anyone drawn to the north will find a distinctive gift here. TheMapVault's Marmocchi map of Norway alone, dated the same year, shows one kingdom in detail, whereas this sheet gathers the peninsula and Denmark together. Like every print in the collection, it ships unframed and is available in a full range of sizes, from a compact desk piece to a large-format statement print. It would suit a study, a hall or a library.