Beschreibung
Asia recens summa cura delineata - Africa nova Tabula- America noviter delineata - Nova Europae descripto
Henricus Hondius & Johannes Janssonius
Set aus vier Karten. Ursprünglich waren die Karten mit Plänen von sechs Städten am oberen und unterem Rand gestochen worden. Bei diesen vier Karten wurden die Umrahmungen entfernt, um dem damaligen Atlas-Standardformat besser zu entsprechen.
altkolorierte Kupferstiche
Bildmaß: jeweils 39 x 53 cm (Höhe x Breite)
One of the most famous series of world maps from the renown cartographer Jodocus Hondius. These are variation of William Blaues maps which had cities and settlements on the upper and lower edges, and various images of peoples in contemporary clothing on the sides. In this edition, the frames were cut off to make them fit into the Atlas format. Hondius Jodocus (1594-1629) based this map on that of his father Jodocus Hondius (1563-1612). It was originally published separately as a map of four continents with borders. It was then reissued by Jodocus' younger brother Henricus Hondius (1597-1651) as part of an Atlas.
Africa
This Africa map has many adornments. In the Atlantic Ocean is a magnificent compass rose. The open ocean contains many sailboats and commercial vessels and various different exotic sea monsters. The land is decorated with representations of the typical fauna present. In keeping with Ptolemy's previous representations, the Nile is shown with its source as the lakes 'lacus zaire' and 'Zaflan`. The fictional 'Sachaf lacus’ is the source of the Zambezi. Place names are listed extensively on coasts. Names of the country's interior gives the impression of a well-explored continent. The title cartouche is on the top right hand side.
Americas
This map is present with two smaller maps of the North and South Poles. The North Pole map of America shows a smaller map containing Greenland, Iceland and the surrounding area The title cartouche is on the bottom right hand side. The northern most point of Antarctica or Terra Incognitia is shown. It is not clearly shown whether Terra del Fuego is connected to Antarctica. Discoveries and trade of the Eastern Coast of North America was far more developed than in the West. This is reflected in the accuracy and detail of this map. The legendary island of Friesland is shown, this a common occurrence in maps of this period. The equator and the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn are clearly marked. French, British and other ships fill the ocean as well as several sea monsters. South America contains images of some of the indigenous peoples of America.
Europe
Unsurprisingly this is the most accurate of all the maps in the set. Of note no compass rose is present. The mapped territories are marked by the separate colors. The title cartouche is on the top right hand side. The map makers signature on the top left hand side. Wild life is shown in Africa and Russia.
Asia
Title cartouche is on the top left flanked by northern Asiatic hunters, the cartographers details are on the top right cartouche. Ships are present in the ocean, including one of Asiatic origin of the coast of China. The piping sea monster at the bottom in the center is of particular note, and contains humanoid features. Generally speaking the further north east one looks the more inaccurate the map becomes. This is common for maps of the period.
Oldcoloured copperplate engraving
Size: each 39 x 53 cm (Height x Width)
