Le nouveau & grand illuminant flambeau de la mer

Gerard van Keulen was the second generation of the Van Keulen publishing house, In de Gekroonde Lootsman (“In the Crowned Pilot”), founded in Amsterdam by his father Johannes van Keulen I in 1678.

The firm became one of the leading Dutch producers of maps, sea charts, atlases, and pilot books, and Gerard served as Hydrographer to the Dutch East India Company.

This French title page, issued at Amsterdam in 1726, belongs to the French edition of vol. 3 of De nieuwe groote lichtende Zee-fakkel.

It shows how the firm adapted its Dutch pilot guide for a wider European readership while retaining the central metaphor of the sea torch as a light for navigation.

At the centre sits a young female figure representing the guiding light of navigation.

She holds a flaming torch, the Flambeau de la Mer, illuminating the scene and giving visual form to the French title of the work.

In her other hand she carries a shield bearing a cross and a half-fleur-de-lys, combining imagery of protection, faith, and royal authority.

Her calm posture contrasts with the troubled maritime scene below, reinforcing the idea of the pilot guide as a source of order amid danger.

To her right, Mercury, the messenger of the gods and an emblem of commerce and movement, and Neptune, god of the sea, examine a compass.

Their attention to the instrument emphasises precise navigation and the practical knowledge required for maritime travel.

To the left, a seated female figure representing Geography holds a terrestrial globe, while a celestial globe nearby places navigation within a broader cosmographical framework.

Above, wind heads blow from dark clouds, signalling the changeable weather that shaped every sea voyage.

Below, a naval battle unfolds, reminding viewers that seafaring involved not only trade and exploration but also conflict, risk, and political rivalry.

The title page presents Le nouveau & grand illuminant flambeau de la mer as an authoritative maritime guide, offering navigational order in a world shaped by weather, distance, trade, and war.

This title page is closely connected with the Dutch Zee-fakkel title pages in the collection (145and 288).

Together, they show how the Van Keulen firm repeated and adapted the imagery of the sea torch as a metaphor for navigational instruction.