Acquired From: Leen Helmink
Colouring: Coloured
Condition: Good
Confirmed: Yes
Date Acquired: 20/3/2023
Description: Henricus Hondius, the younger son of the renowned engraver and mapmaker Jodocus Hondius I, played a key role in the family mapmaking business, known as "In de Wackere Hondt" ("In the Vigilant Dog") in Amsterdam. Henricus worked closely with his father to expand and republish Gerard Mercators famous world atlas. Mercator passed away in 1594, leaving his ambitious Atlas unfinished. Mercators son, Rumold, completed and published the work in 1595 under the title Atlas sive Cosmographicæ meditationes de fabrica mundi et fabricati figura. A subsequent edition followed in 1602 but it was not commercially successful.nAfter Rumolds death in 1599, Jodocus Hondius I acquired many of the copperplates from Mercators atlas and used these along with his own maps to publish a new edition in 1606, titled Gerardi Mercatoris, Atlas sive cosmographicae meditationes. Hondius kept Mercator's name as the author and listed himself as the publisher. This edition, known as the Mercator-Hondius Atlas, was highly successful, solidifying the Hondius familys prominence in the cartographic world. nFollowing Jodocus I death in 1612, his sons Henricus and Jodocus II took over the business and continued publishing the atlas. In 1629, after Jodocus II's death, thirty-seven of the copperplates were sold to their competitor, Willem Jansz. Blaeu. Blaeu modified these plates and incorporated them into his own world atlas, Atlantis appendix sive pars altera, published in 1630.nIn response, Henricus partnered with his brother-in-law, Johannes Janssonius, and commissioned new plates to replace those sold to Blaeu. Together, they published a supplement to the Mercator-Hondius Atlas, titled Atlantis maioris appendix, sive pars altera, also in 1630, as a direct competitor to Blaeus atlas. In 1633 Hondius published a new enlarged French edition in two volumes, titled Atlas ou representation du monde universel. This titlepage is from the second volume. nThe title page is based on Mercators 1595 Atlas design, with the addition of six female figures representing the continents. At the center stands a muscular man with a long beard and flowing mantle, holding a celestial globe and dividers in his hands, with a terrestrial globe at his feet. He is surrounded by an architectural structure featuring two Corinthian columns. Atop the structure are two putti holding an armillary sphere. In the niche next to the left column is Europa, crowned and holding a scepter, symbolizing her authority. Her cornucopia represents peace and prosperity. Opposite her is Asia, dressed in flowing robes, holding a censer of myrrh in her right hand and a sprig of balsam in her left, with a phoenix at her feetsymbols of Egypt. Below her is an unclothed Magalanica, representing the unknown continent south of the tip of South America. She holds a flaming torch in her right hand, referencing the fires seen by Ferdinand Magellan and his crew in 1520. In her left hand is the neck of a penguin, which the crew described as "black geese." By her side is the head of an elephant. Opposite Magalanica is a semi-clad woman, identified as Peruana, with a feather headdress and a battle-axe. Behind her is a puma or jaguar.nSeated at the top of the pedestal is Mexicana at the left, depicted as a warrior with a bow and arrow, accompanied by an animal that may be a tapir or armadillo. At the top right is Africa, painted black and shaded from the burning sun by a parasol. She holds arrows and is seated on a large crocodile.
First published: Gerardi Mercatoris Atlas, sive, cosmographicae meditationes de fabrica mundi et fabricati figura Vol. 2, Amsterdam: Jodocus Hondius, 1606
Image Size (cm): 24×39
Mapmaker: Hondius, Henricus (1597-1651)
Price: 600
Primary Category: Titlepage
Purchase Reference: Email 4 June 2023. Ledger
Rarity: R2 Very rare – one or two copies appear on the market
Sheet size (cm): 26.5×46
Shirley ID #: 27 Courtiers and Cannibals
Technique: Copper Engraving
This state: 1633, French
Laisser un commentaire