The firm of Van Keulen was founded around 1678 by Johannes van Keulen (1654-1715) and in 1680 he published the ‘Zee Atlas’. The multi volume ‘Zee Fakkel’ followed soon after. On his 50th birthday he left the management of the firm to his talented son Gerard (1678-1726). Gerard set about replacing many of his father’s sea charts the first of which was published in 1698. Johannes van Keulen never published a map devoted to Malta alone. That was left for his son Gerard to rectify. The main map and large inset lower left of the harbour are derived from the work of Gio. Giacomo de Rossi in 1686. All of the place names retain their original Italian language. The inset of the harbour bears a key to the right running from a to v and two flags of the Order of St. John.. To the right are two two views. The upper one is of Valletta and its harbour, the lower one being of Capo La Marza near Porto Palo. This example is from the third part of ‘De Nieuwe Groote Lichtende Zee-Fakkel’ dated 1724 which covered the Mediterranean Sea. The precise date of the first issue of this map has not been determined but is believed to be between 1716 and 1728. According to De Vries and Schilder it was introduced into the third volume in 1734. De Vries, Schilder etc. ‘The Van Keulen Cartography Amsterdam 1680-1885’, pp. 44 & 202-5; Ganado “The Maltese Islands in Flemish cartography”, in ‘Mappae Antiquae Liber Amicorum Gunter Schilder’ pp.139-42; Koeman IV p. 381 no. 314; Koeman ‘The Sea on Paper’ p. 37.