India quae orientalis dicitur, et insulae adjacentes

Acquired From: Gowrie Galleries

Colouring: Coloured

Condition: Good

Confirmed: Yes

Date Acquired: 26/6/2000

Dealers ID No.: M47/1 (STK 946.01)

Description: This intermediate state of Willem Jansz. Blaeus map of the East Indiestitled India quae orientalis dicitur, et insulae adjacentes (India, so-called the East, and adjacent islands)was published in the 1634 German-language edition of Novus Atlas. Its cartographic lineage traces to Hessel Gerritsz, the first official cartographer of the Dutch East India Company (VOC), who had compiled the original map using VOC navigational data and shipping logs from the East Indies. Upon Gerritszs death in 1632, Blaeu succeeded him as VOC mapmaker and gained access to both company records and Gerritszs engraved copperplate.nThe 1634 atlas in which this version appears was likely produced under time constraints, resulting in several mapsincluding this onebeing issued in transitional or partially completed states. The earliest version (View Record (#76)) bears only the title India and lacks a scale, dedication, signature, and decorative elements. This second state features a newly engraved Latin title and a large dedicatory cartouche that remains blank, suggesting an intended dedication was still pending. Blaeus name is not yet inscribed on the plate, underscoring the maps intermediate character.nAccording to cartographic historian Günter Schilder, this version represents the second of three known states:nState 1 (#76): Early version titled simply India, lacking cartouches, dedication, scale, and signature.nState 2 (#121, this example): Introduces the full Latin title and a blank dedicatory cartouche; still unsigned.nState 3 (#108, dated 1635): Adds a dedication to VOC Governor-General Laurens Reael (161618) and includes Blaeus imprint.nWhile still transitional, this state incorporates key Dutch discoveries in the region and preserves Gerritszs foundational geography. Notable features include:n'' Jan Carstensz (1623)'' west coast of Cape York Peninsulan'' Dirk Hartog (1616)'' t Landt van Eendracht (Land of Eendracht) in Western Australian'' Lenaert Jacobszoon (1618)'' Mauritius (Willem River) in Western Australian'' Frederick de Houtman (1628) '' G.F. de Wits LandIt nThe map also identifies the location of the Trial shipwreck of 1622the first documented European shipwreck on the Australian coastoff the Montebello Islands. Commanded by Captain John Brookes of the English East India Company, the Trial was lost en route to Batavia, with heavy casualties.nTo the north, New Guinea is portrayed as a narrow, tapering landmass, separated from a nearly adjacent Cape York Peninsula. This reflects cartographic uncertainty following the 1606 Duyfken voyage under Willem Janszoon, who mistakenly believed the Australian coast to be a southern extension of New Guinea.nAs a transitional production between Gerritszs draftsmanship and Blaeus refinement, this second state offers insight into the evolving geographic knowledge of Southeast Asia and the nascent mapping of northern and western Australia.

First published: Novus Atlas das ist Abbildung und Beschreibung von allen Ländern des Erdreichs, Amsterdam: Willem Jansz. Blaeu, 1634

Mapmaker: Blaeu, Willem Jansz. (1571-1638)

Other states: First 1634 (View Record (#76)), Third 1635 (View Record (#108))

Price: A16,000 plus gst

Primary Category: Southeast Asia

Purchase Reference: Letter 26 June 2000 on green paper

Rarity: R1 Extremely rare – occasionally seen on the market

References: Simon Dewez, The Printed World III (Sydney: Gowrie Galleries, 2000), map 70, pgs 30-31. See also Simon Dewez, The Printed World II (Sydney: Gowrie Galleries, 1997), map 91, pg 20. Günter Schilder, Australia Unveiled: The Share of the Dutch Navigators in the Discovery of Australia, trans. Olaf Richter (Amsterdam: Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, 1973), 322, map 40.

Technique: Copper Engraving

This state: 1634, Second