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The Art of Maps: Map of Svecia and Norvegia from Atlas sive Cosmographicae by Gerardus Mercator (1595)

Atlas sive Cosmographicae by Gerardus Mercator (1595)

The Fleming Gerard Mercator (1512-1594) is rightfully regarded as the most important scientific cartographer of the Renaissance. With two contemporaries, the geographer Abraham Ortelius and the printer and publisher Christoffel Plantijn,he is considered the father of commercial cartography in the Netherlands.Even during his lifetime his maps, globes and atlases found their way all over the world.Mercator established his reputation mainly through his new projection method. The meridians and parallels are positioned at right angles to each other.If the distances between the meridians are equal, they progressively become larger between the parallels from the equator to the poles.This is why the latitude becomes wider the closer you get to one of the poles and why the part of the Earth in the upper latitudes exhibits excessive proportions.The advantage of this method was the far greater degree of certainty and accuracy in determining shipping routes.In 1585, Mercator published the first three parts of his own book of maps in one volume,which he called Atlas.The second edition appeared in 1589, with the addition of a fourth part. The first complete edition was compiled by his heirs in 1595 one year after his death.Walter Ghim,mayor of Duisburg the city where Mercator had lived for a long time,wrote the accompanying Mercator biography.It was the first time that a book of maps was referred to as an Atlas.Commercially speaking,however,the Atlas was not a success thanks to formidable competition from the Theatrum orbis terrarum by Abraham Ortelius,published in 1570,which by the end of the century had been reprinted more than twenty times.

The Art Of Maps:

The Art of Maps: Map of America from Atlas sive Cosmographicae by Gerardus Mercator (1595)
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The Art Of Maps: Orbis Terrarum Typus… auctore Petro Plancio 1594

Orbis Terrarum Typus De Integro Multis In Locis Emendatus auctore Petro Plancio 1594

Map Maker: Petrus Plancius

Place / Date: Amsterdam / 1594

Coloring: Hand Colored

Size: 23 x 16 inches

Description: This spectacularly decorative map engraved engraved by the Dutch master Jan van Doetecum holds the distinction of being the first world map to use a style of richly decorated border that would dominate world maps for decades to come. The elaborate borders were inspired by drawings in the works of Theodore de Bry published a few years earlier and established a pattern of cartographical decoration that lasted over a century. The map also has great importance geographically, particularly in the mapping of the Arctic and the Far East. The map contains a marvelous attempt at a North-West Passage, and Plancius himself instigated the three voyages of Willem Barents (1594-1597) into the area. He used this map to give cartographic encouragement to the Dutch crews by turning Novaya Zemlya into an island with open sea between it and the Arctic. A sprinkling of English names in the Canadian Arctic appear as a result of Frobisher and Davis’s explorations in search of the passage in 1576-1587. The map is also a landmark in the mapping of Asia and Japan. Plancius was one of the first Europeans able to penetrate the wall of secrecy surrounding the manuscript portolan maps produced by Spain & Portugal. ” Some of the most significant improvements include the first incorporation of Teixiera’s outline for Japan.. Ususal fold reinforcements, narrow margins and minor faults. Backed on archival paper. A visually stunning example. Shirley 187.