FAHLBERG, Samuel [Stockhom: 1801] Charta ofver On St. Barthelemy – Konungen af Sverige Gustaf den IV. Adolph . . . 20 X 28 inches. Fine hand color; a few mended, marginal splits, else excellent. Rare, beautiful map of St. Bartholomew Island, and the largest and most detailed of the three maps of the island published prior to the 20th century. Published in Stockholm when St. Barts was a Swedish possession, the map skillfully renders the topography of the island and includes property divisions and a chart listing the numbers of houses and inhabitants. It is divided into Quartiers and then further sub-divided. Bays and pathways are noted, and the capital town of “Gustavia” is now named with a layout of its streets. Offshore there are small islands, soundings and other details. A description of Gustavia is in the circle at the left, along with a key identifying the number of landowners and the amount of land owned by the King (in Arpents). Fahlberg was the physician of the Swedish government for the island, and in addition to his medical duties, he was also an urban planner. He laid out the streets for the main town of Gustavia (named for King Gustav III of Sweden), where the Rue Samuel Fahlberg is still an important thoroughfare. Discovered by Columbus in 1493 and named in honor of his brother Bartolomeo, St. Bart’s was first settled by French colonists. Except for a brief military takeover by the British in 1758, St. Bart’s remained French until 1784 when it was summarily sold to Sweden by one of Louis XVI’s ministers in exchange for trading rights in the Swedish port of Gothenburg. France repurchased it in 1878.
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