Acquired From: Leen Helmink
Colouring: Coloured
Condition: Very Good
Confirmed: Yes
Date Acquired: 30/11/2015
Description: Following the death of Willem Blaeu in 1638, his son Joan Blaeu expanded and refined the familys atlas project, culminating in the monumental Atlas Maior. The origins of this enterprise, however, extend back several decades. In 1599, after briefly studying with the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe, Willem Janszoon Blaeu settled in Amsterdam, where he established himself as a maker of globes, astronomical instruments, wall maps, and pilot books. nIn 1629, following the death of Jodocus Hondius Jr., Blaeu acquired thirty-seven copperplates from the Hondius family. The following year, working with his eldest son Joan, he published the Atlantis Appendix, a single-volume world atlas comprising sixty maps, many derived from the Hondius plates. This was followed in 1631 by Appendix Theatri A. Ortelii et Atlantis G. Mercatoris, further expanding Blaeu's cartographic output.nIn 1634, Blaeu announced a more ambitious international edition of his atlas. That same year, a hastily assembled German-language version appeared under the title Novus Atlas das ist Abbildung und Beschreibung von allen Ländern des Erdreichs, with several maps left incomplete (View Record (#76)). A more formal and complete edition followed in 1635, issued simultaneously in Dutch (Toonneel des Aerdrycks, ofte Nieuwe Atlas), Latin (Novus Atlas), and French (Le Théâtre du Monde). These multilingual volumes were designed for a broad European readership. Their title pages were later imitated by Blaeus principal rival Johannes Janssonius in his own Le Théâtre du Monde ou nouvel atlas (1639, 1643; #303 and View Record (#320)).nOver the next two decades, Joan Blaeu expanded the atlas with volumes dedicated to Italy and Greece (1640), England and Wales (1645), Scotland and Ireland (1654), and China (Atlas Sinensis, 1655). The project reached its peak with the publication of the Atlas Maior, sive Cosmographia Blaviana, first issued in Latin (1662, 11 vols.), and subsequently translated into Dutch (Grooten Atlas, oft Werelt-Beschrijvinge, 1664, 9 vols.), French (Le Grand Atlas, ou Cosmographie Blaviane, 1667, 12 vols.), and Spanish (Atlas Mayor, o Geographia Blaviana, 1672, 10 vols.).This title page departs from allegorical geography to celebrate the scientific legacy of Tycho Brahe, presenting astronomy as a disciplined and collaborative enterprise.nFollowing the death of Willem Blaeu in 1638, his son Joan Blaeu expanded and refined the familys atlas project, culminating in the monumental Atlas Maior. Its origins, however, date back several decades. In 1599, after briefly studying with Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe, Willem Janszoon Blaeu settled in Amsterdam, where he established himself as a maker of globes, astronomical instruments, wall maps, and pilot books. In 1629, following the death of Jodocus Hondius Jr., Blaeu acquired thirty-seven copperplates from the Hondius family. The following year, with his eldest son Joan, he published the Atlantis Appendix, a single-volume world atlas comprising sixty maps, many derived from the Hondius plates. This was followed in 1631 by Appendix Theatri A. Ortelii et Atlantis G. Mercatoris, further expanding his cartographic output.nIn 1634, Blaeu announced a more ambitious international edition of his atlas. That same year, a hastily assembled German-language version appeared under the title Novus Atlas das ist Abbildung und Beschreibung von allen Ländern des Erdreichs, with several maps left incomplete (View Record (#76)). A more formal and complete edition followed in 1635, published in Dutch (Toonneel des Aerdrycks, ofte Nieuwe Atlas), Latin (Novus Atlas), and French (Le Théâtre du Monde). These multilingual volumes were designed for a broad European readership. Title pages from these editions were later imitated by Blaeus rival Johannes Janssonius in his own Le Théâtre du Monde ou nouvel atlas (1639, 1643; #303 and View Record (#320)).nOver the next two decades, Joan Blaeu expanded the atlas with volumes dedicated to Italy and Greece (1640), England and Wales (1645), Scotland and Ireland (1654), and China (Atlas Sinensis, 1655). The project reached its peak with the publication of the Atlas Maior, sive Cosmographia Blaviana, first issued in Latin (1662, 11 vols.), and later translated into Dutch (Grooten Atlas, oft Werelt-Beschrijvinge, 1664, 9 vols.), French (Le Grand Atlas, ou Cosmographie Blaviane, 1667, 12 vols.), and Spanish (Atlas Mayor, o Geographia Blaviana, 1672, 10 vols.).nFor both the 1635 Dutch, Latin, and French precursors of the Atlas Maior, Geographia Blaviana, Joan Blaeu introduced a coordinated series of engraved title pages, each serving as a symbolic gateway to a specific geographic region. From these earlier publications, the present collection includes an early 1638 reissue of the French title page from Le Théâtre du Monde (View Record (#351)), as well as two title pages for the Spanish section: one from the 1644 French edition of Le Théâtre du Monde, ou nouvel atlas (View Record (#147)), and another from the 1658 Dutch edition of Toonneel des Aerdrycks (View Record (#318)).nThe collection also includes title pages from the Atlas Maior, Geographia Blaviana: the general title page (View Record (#157)), along with allegorical frontispieces for the Arctic (View Record (#284)), Europe (View Record (#151)), Africa (View Record (#149)), and America (View Record (#150)). A distinct title page for Asia (View Record (#152)) was adapted from the earlier Atlas Sinensis of 1655. In addition, the collection features View Record (#148), which introduces the section on Tycho Brahes astronomical instruments.nThis latter title page departs from allegorical geography to illustrate Brahes scientific legacy. Willem Blaeu, had studied with Tycho Brahe on the island of Hven between 1594 and 1596. Blaeus engravings were adapted from woodcuts originally published in Brahes Astronomiae instauratae mechanica (1598). In one such engraving, Brahe is seated beside the large mural quadrant mounted on a wall at Uraniborg. Behind him is a richly detailed interior mural featuring his own image.nThe illustration is arranged across three levels: at the top, a parapet and landscape are inscribed with the Latin caption: Figure of Tycho Brahe, Ottos son, the builder of this building and of astronomical instruments. In the year 1587, at the age of forty years. The upper terrace shows four of Brahes instruments in use by assistants. On the middle level, two chambers divided by a celestial globe (X) contain tables and scribes at work. The lowest level shows a laboratory with three numbered instruments and a kneeling figure tending a furnace.nTo the right, an observer at point F views the Sun through an opening in the wall (A), announcing its passage across the meridian (R). A second observer, holding a torch, records the time on a precision clock, and a scribe notes the result. At Brahes table, he holds a compass and ruler, while pointing upward with his right handemphasising the celestial connection of his measurements.nOn the wall behind him are shelves of books and medallions flanking a shallow niche containing a globe (X). The medallions depict King Frederick II of Denmark (Z) and Queen Sophie (Y), while the globe is identified by Brahe as a gift to their son, Christian IV, during a royal visit to Hven. At Brahes feet rests his dog, described by him as 'his most loyal companion.'
Engraver: Blaeu, Joan (1596-1673)
First published: Atlas Maior, sive Cosmographia Blaviana… Vol. 1, Amsterdam: Joan Blaeu, 1662
Mapmaker: Blaeu, Joan (1596-1673)
Price: 1,800
Primary Category: Titlepage
Purchase Reference: Ledger 2022. Inv. 2015-008
Rarity: R2 Very rare – one or two copies appear on the market
References: Ivana Horacek, Illuminating Methods, Picturing Instruments: Tycho Brahes Instrumental Images, Austrian History Yearbook 52 (2021): 3053.nSee also Tycho Brahe, Astronomiae instauratae mechanica (Wandsbek, Hamburg: Philip de Ohr, 1598).
Technique: Copper Engraving
This state: First
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