The 18th century Dutch map trade could build on their reputation that originated from the Golden Age much longer than was assumed until now. The Amsterdam publishing company Covens & Mortier (1685-1866) has played an important part in this process. Most likely this company was the largest map trader of his days. Thousand of maps were brought almost industrially on the market by Covens & Mortier and all members of this firm were gifted with a great commercial talent.

This book offers an overview of the history of this important publishing company. It focuses on the cartographic stock of Covens & Mortier and the way that the publications were produced and distributed. It also informs you about the cartographic innovations which were introduced by this firm, and the importance of Covens & Mortier for the development of commercial cartography at home and abroad.

Volume 8 in our series: Utrecht Studies in the history of cartography.

"This is not your Mama`s map book. No coffee table will be its home. But it does belong in every research map collection/library, and on the shelves of the serious collector of Dutch maps and their history." (....) "Covens & Mortier will be a model voor years to come, and a contiuing resource both in the suty of Dutch cartographic history, but also in the general study of map production from the 17th to 19th centuries." (The Portolan - journal of the washington map society. Issue 78 Fall 2010)