# Frederik de Wit artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/frederik-de-wit/
Profile generated: 2026-05-16T18:34:35.379Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Death date: 1706-08-04
- Nationality: Dutch
- Movements: Dutch Golden Age cartography and print publishing
- Common media: Engraving, Etching, Printmaking

## About Frederik de Wit

Frederik de Wit (c. 1629/1630–1706) was a Dutch cartographer, engraver, and print publisher who operated one of the most productive map-making workshops in Amsterdam during the Dutch Golden Age. Active from roughly 1648 until his death in 1706, de Wit built a catalog encompassing sea charts, wall maps, city plans, and bound atlases that were sold across Europe. He acquired copper plates from earlier firms—including those of Willem Blaeu and Jan Janssonius—and reissued them under his own imprint, substantially expanding his range. His output reflects the era's intersection of commercial publishing, scientific geography, and decorative art. De Wit's maps remain among the most frequently encountered Dutch cartographic works at auction and in institutional collections today.

## Common works and media

Common works include engraved and etched maps of European regions, world maps, sea charts, city plans (particularly of Amsterdam and other Dutch cities), and bound composite atlases. Many sheets feature elaborate cartouches, decorative borders, and contemporary hand-coloring in the characteristic Dutch palette. Individual map sheets from de Wit's atlases appear regularly at auction, while complete atlas volumes and large-format wall maps are rarer and more highly sought after. Prints and topographical views published by his firm also circulate in the Old Master print market.

## Market and appraisal context

Collectors most often encounter Frederik de Wit material as individual engraved or etched map sheets, bound atlas volumes, and large wall maps. Value depends on the specific title or region depicted, the quality and age of hand-coloring, overall condition including centerfold integrity and margin preservation, and whether the impression is from an early or later state of the copper plate. Because de Wit reissued plates acquired from other publishers, collectors should verify whether a given work was originally engraved by de Wit's workshop or carries his imprint on a plate of earlier origin. Provenance and institutional exhibition history can further influence auction results.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine artist identity research from authority files and institutional sources with auction records, auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. For Frederik de Wit, identity data is grounded in the Getty Union List of Artist Names, the RKD (Netherlands Institute for Art History), VIAF, and Wikidata.

## Sources

- RKD (Netherlands Institute for Art History): https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/85093
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1402952
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500044399
- VIAF (Virtual International Authority File): https://viaf.org/viaf/52982523/
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n80036663
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederik_de_Wit