Pierre mortier (1661-1711) was a dutch publisher of atlases, maps, and charts. The grandson of religious refugees from france who settled in leiden about 1625, mortier grew up in amsterdam, which at the time was the center of the international book trade. As a young man, he spent several years in paris, where he got to know french maps and publishers. Returning to amsterdam about 1685, he established himself as a publisher of high quality maps, including reprints of works by alexis-hubert jaillot, nicolas sanson, and the other great french mapmakers. Mortier produced this striking military map for prince eugene of savoy (1663-1736), the principal commander of the forces of the holy roman empire in the war of the spanish succession (1701-14). The war was a contest for european dominance that pitted the france of louis xiv against a coalition that included england, holland, and the holy roman empire. Much of the early fighting took place in northern italy. Mortier’s work includes four maps showing different areas of conflict. The map at the upper left contains vivid engravings of eugene conducting military operations in the alps and of his capture of marshall françois de neufville de villeroy on the night of january 31-february 1, 1702. The map at the upper right extends into germany (bavaria) and austria. Holy roman empire; military maps; spanish succession, war of, 1701-1714. Date: 1705. Place of creation: Austria. Dimensions: 1 map on 4 sheets : 49 x 59 cm or smaller. Medium: maps. Collection: Library of Congress.
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