India

Acquired From: Gowrie Galleries

Colouring: Uncoloured

Condition: Very Good

Confirmed: No

Dealers ID No.: M47 (STK 1081.01)

Description: This early and incomplete map of the East Indies, titled simply India, is the first known state of Willem Jansz. Blaeus map of the region. It was published in the 1634 German-language edition of Novus Atlasa volume likely produced in haste, with several maps issued in transitional or unfinished form. This version lacks a scale bar, dedication, cartouches, and Blaeus signature, and represents the initial stage in the development of one of the most influential VOC-era charts of maritime Southeast Asia.nThe map's origins lie in the work of Hessel Gerritsz, the Dutch East India Companys official cartographer from 1617 until his death in 1632. Drawing on VOC shipping logs and navigational charts, Gerritsz compiled a prototype of the East Indies region that was engraved but never widely published in his lifetime. Upon succeeding Gerritsz as VOC cartographer, Blaeu gained access to his plates and incorporated them into his own atlases.nCartographic historian Günter Schilder identifies three distinct states of this map:nState 1 (this example): Titled India, without scale, dedication, signature, or decorative elements.nState 2 (1634, View Record (#121)): Includes a blank dedicatory cartouche; still unsigned.nState 3 (1635, View Record (#108)): Dated 1635, it carries a dedication to Laurens Reael and Blaeus imprint; fully embellished.nAlthough this first state appears visually restrained, it incorporates significant geographic knowledge stemming from Dutch exploration. It reflects VOC activity and early contact with the Australian continent, notably:n'' Jan Carstensz (1623)'' – west coast of Cape York Peninsulan'' Dirk Hartog (1616)'' – t Landt van Eendracht (Land of Eendracht) in Western Australian'' Leneart Jacobszoon (1618)'' – Mauritius (Willem River) in Western Australian'' Frederick de Houtman (1628)'' – G.F. de Wits LandnThe map also marks the 1622 wreck of the Trial (or Tryall), the first recorded shipwreck on the Australian coast, located near the Montebello Islands. North of Australia, New Guinea appears elongated and partially conjoined with Cape York, reflecting the lingering misconceptionbased on Willem Janszoons 1606 voyage aboard the Duyfkenthat these landmasses were connected.nThis rare state not only represents a transitional moment in Blaeus cartographic production but also a critical phase in the European understanding of Southeast Asia and Australasia in the early 17th century.

Engraver: Gerritsz. Hessel

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)

Notes: Purchase details

Other states: Second 1634 (View Record (#1)View Record (#21)), Third 1635 (View Record (#1)View Record (#08))

Primary Category: Southeast Asia

Purchase Reference: Insurance Ledger June 2015

Rarity: R1 Extremely rare – occasionally seen on the market

References: Simon Dewez, The Printed World III, 3031, map 69nGunter Schilder and Hans Kok, Sailing for the East: History and Catalogue of Manuscript Charts on Vellum of the Dutch East India Company (VOC), 16021799, Ill. 4.18. Also Kees Zandvliet, Mapping for Money: Maps, Plans, and Topographic Paintings and Their Role in Dutch Overseas Expansion during the 16th and 17th-Centuries (Amsterdam: Batavian Lion International, 1998), 94100.

Technique: Copper Engraving

This state: 1634