Antique Prints, Maps, & Books of Natural History, Botanicals, & More
Lot 64620:
Description
This exceptional folio map is from Gerard Mercator’s
Atlas sive cosmographicae meditationes de fabrica mundi… The work was published in Amsterdam by Henri Hondius in 1623. Mercator’s
Atlas was the first true “atlas”, a word chosen by Mercator himself to refer to a collection of maps which would be adopted by all later geographers.
Gerard Mercator (1512-1594) is one of the most famous cartographers. He created the Mercator projection for maps which had all parallels and meridians drawn at right angles to each other. This proved exceptionally useful to sailors allowing them to much more easily navigate. Mercator also introduced the term of "atlas", first used to describe his collection of maps gathered into one volume. Mercator is certainly best known for his maps and projections. Mercator was one the greatest names in early cartography, with his friend, Abraham Ortelius, describing Mercator as being the “contemporary Ptolemy”.
“Contrary to the maps in Abraham Ortelius’s Theatrum orbis terrarium, Antwerp 1570, Mercator’s maps are original. Abraham Ortelius did what most of the atlas-makers of our time are engaged in: the reduction and generalisation of already existing maps. Gerard Mercator, with his sense of scientific word (which should be original and new) checked the current knowledge of the configuration of the earth’s topography against its fundamental sources and drew new maps in his original conception. This method of map-making took more time than it would have by mere copying. But he had not the intention to compete with Ortelius’s best-selling atlas.” (Koeman)
Paper Size: ~ 18 1/8" by 22"
Condition report:
The work is in good to excellent condition overall. There is some very light text or image offset. There is some very light foxing in the margins. There may be a few minor imperfections to be expected with age. Please review the image carefully for condition and contact us with any questions.
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