Lynda Shephard
Lynda began sourcing and collecting original maps from places like London and Amsterdam back in the 1990’s. As an artist and gallery owner in Dubai, which included Arabian antiques, she was asked by the Ruler, Sheikh Mohammed, to try and source original maps of the Middle East. Once these were sourced and purchased, they were reproduced and then sold to the Sheikh’s hotel as hospitality company, part of Emirates Airways. She framed many hundred’s of the reproduced maps to be then displayed in the bedrooms, where guests admired them and were told they could also buy an affordable quality re;reduction in the hotel’s gift shop which my gallery also supplied.
Owning ancient maps allows you to have the copyright to then publish high quality copies from the original. Original maps are extremely costly in auction houses these days, especially if they are in very good condition.
The pretty map, with the colourful images of New Zealand, comes from the Tallis Atlas and the engravings and images were made by John Rapkin.
The map of Captain Cook’s voyage around New Zealand is unique because it has the ship image included in this map. This is extremely rare.
It was during the 1990’s when she had decided to buy a beautiful home in the Bay of Islands and also secure permanent residency in New Zealand, that she came across the originals of these two NZ maps when hunting and sourcing in Amsterdam, which is recognized as the map antique capital of the world for collectors. Many dealers and auction houses dealing in ancient maps there.
