Finding aid for the Robert S. Benner collection of nautical charts 6248
Bo Doub
USC Libraries Special Collections
2022 February
Doheny Memorial Library 206
3550 Trousdale Parkway
Los Angeles, California 90089-0189
specol@usc.edu
Contributing Institution:
USC Libraries Special Collections
Title: Robert S. Benner collection of nautical charts
Creator:
Levanto, Francesco Maria, active 17th century
source:
Benner, Robert S.
Identifier/Call Number: 6248
Physical Description:
3.21 Linear Feet
2 boxes
Date (inclusive): 1663-1750
Abstract: The Robert S. Benner collection of nautical charts consists of 22 nautical charts created in the late 17th century and mid-18th
century. The majority of the nautical charts in the collection come from Francesco Maria Levanto's (1650-1718)
Prima Parte dello Specchio del Mare, nel quale si Descrivono Tutti li Porti, Spiaggie, Baye, Isole, Scogli, e Seccagni del
Mediterraneo
, originally issued in 1663, with a later edition published in 1695. All of Francesco Maria Levanto's charts are numbered
in the lower-right corner of each chart with descriptions in Italian. Levanto's charts map various Mediterranean ports, coasts,
and islands. The collection also holds two nautical charts that are not part of the Francesco Maria Levanto set, which are
unnumbered and captioned in English instead of Italian. The donor of the collection, Robert S. Benner, identified the two
unnumbered charts as being from around the mid-18th century. One of the unnumbered charts shows the northwest coast of Ireland
and the other shows "The Sea Coast of Languedoc Provence and Part of Italy; from Cape Dragon to Cape Delle Melle." Lastly,
the collection includes a binder of photocopies of the charts compiled by Robert S. Benner and an SD memory card with digital
image files of the charts.
Language of Material:
Italian
, English
.
The Robert S. Benner collection of nautical charts consists of 22 nautical charts created in the late 17th century and mid-18th
century. The majority of the nautical charts in the collection come from Francesco Maria Levanto's (1650-1718)
Prima Parte dello Specchio del Mare, nel quale si Descrivono Tutti li Porti, Spiaggie, Baye, Isole, Scogli, e Seccagni del
Mediterraneo
, originally issued in 1663, with a later edition published in 1695. All of Francesco Maria Levanto's charts are numbered
in the lower-right corner of each chart with descriptions in Italian. Levanto's charts map various Mediterranean ports, coasts,
and islands. The collection also holds two nautical charts that are not part of the Francesco Maria Levanto set, which are
unnumbered and captioned in English instead of Italian. The donor of the collection, Robert S. Benner, identified the two
unnumbered charts as being from around the mid-18th century. One of the unnumbered charts shows the northwest coast of Ireland
and the other shows "The Sea Coast of Languedoc Provence and Part of Italy; from Cape Dragon to Cape Delle Melle." Lastly,
the collection includes a binder of photocopies of the charts compiled by Robert S. Benner and an SD memory card with digital
image files of the charts.
Advance notice required for access.
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Department of Special
Collections at specol@usc.edu. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical
items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Rights Statement for Archival Description
Finding aid description and metadata are licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.
[Box/folder no. or item name], Robert S. Benner collection of nautical charts, Collection no. 6248, Special Collections, USC
Libraries, University of Southern California
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Robert S. Benner in multiple installments from 2009 to 2013.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Nautical charts -- Ireland -- 18th century -- Archival resources
Nautical charts -- Mediterranean Sea -- 17th century -- Archival resources
Digital images
Maps
Nautical charts
Levanto, Francesco Maria, active 17th century -- Nautical charts
Benner, Robert S.
Box 1
Nautical charts
Box 2
Collection inventory and photocopies