44. 21 maps of Iceland. Magnus Arason et al. 1721-36.

The maps are made at the request of diocesan officer, admiral Peter Raben. They were submitted to the War Chancellery in Copenhagen during the reign of Frederik IV, and are very interesting i.a. because they show to which extent civil servants, dispatched from Denmark, possessed any knowledge of the topography of Iceland.

The maps are measured, drawn and copied by Magnus Arason, Johan Nicolai Eckleff, Frederik Christian Knoff, Thomas Hans Henrik Knoff and Hans Jacob Scheel in the years 1721-36.

The then director of Geodaetic Institute, N.E. Nørlund in 1944 published a major work on the charting of Iceland. Here are mentioned the - until then - obscure maps for the first time in recent time. The Royal Library's Department of Maps, Prints and Photographs was handed the maps in 1977 in connection with the removal of the history library from Geodaetic Institute.

The 21 maps are all drawn by hand and hand-coloured with colours that have preserved their freshness and glow. Many of the maps have a fabric edging and most of them are composed of several pieces of paper. The largest map measures 186 x 161 cm.