The Van Keulen publishing house was one of

Acquired From: Leen Helmink

Colouring: Coloured

Condition: Good

Confirmed: Yes

Description: The Van Keulen publishing house was one of the most important producers of nautical charts and sea atlases in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Founded by Johannes van Keulen in Amsterdam in 1678, the firm specialised in hydrographic publications intended for professional mariners, merchants, and naval use, rather than for the encyclopaedic ambitions of terrestrial atlases.nVan Keulens best-known works include the Zee Atlas and the Zee-fakkel (Sea Torch), both issued in multiple volumes and editions. These publications combined practical sailing directions with carefully engraved charts and elaborate title pages that framed navigation as a disciplined science. The imagery commonly blends classical mythology, personifications of the continents, and instruments of measurement, visually reinforcing the authority and reliability of the charts within.nUnlike the Blaeu or Janssonius atlases, Van Keulens works remained closely tied to the needs of active navigation and continued to be updated and reissued well into the eighteenth century. The firm later received official appointments as chartmakers to the Dutch Admiralty, cementing its reputation as a cornerstone of European maritime cartography.nThis engraved title page from the 1693 Dutch edition of Johannes van Keulens Zee Atlas, designed by Jan Luyken and engraved by Aernout Naghtegael, presents maritime navigation as a union of authority and scientific precision.nAt the centre stands Neptune, the classical sea god and ruler of the oceans, positioned behind a celestial globe. nSurrounding Neptune are six female figures. One places upon his head a crown formed from the sterns of six galleons, reinforcing his command of global seaborne trade. The remaining figures personify the continents, each identified by familiar iconographic attributes. In the foreground, Europe, wearing a crucifix and accompanied by a bull symbolising strength and stability, studies an open sea atlas displaying a chart of the English Channel, a direct reference to practical hydrography. Behind her, South America and North America, both distinguished by feathered headdresses, observe the atlas, while Asia and Africa are accompanied by a parrot and a lion and lioness respectively, signalling exoticism and power.nAbove Neptune appears Aeolus, the god of the winds, seated on an inflated sack and releasing the winds through a narrow opening, a potent reminder of the unpredictable forces faced by sailors and the necessity of navigational expertise.

Engraver: Naghtegael, Aernout

First published: De groote nieuwe vermeerderde zee atlas ofte water-werelt, Amsterdam: Johannes van Keulen I, 1680

Mapmaker: Keulen I, Johannes van (1654-1715)

Notes: Purchase details

Primary Category: Titlepage

Rarity: R3 Uncommon – dealers can usually obtain a copy

Shirley ID #: 65 Courtiers and Cannibals

Technique: Copper Engraving

This state: 1693