1631 Nova Totius Terrarum Orbis Geographica ac Hydrographica Tabula (4th State)

By: Willem Janszoon Blaeu  Date: 1631 (published) Amsterdam Dimensions: 17.5 x 22 inches (44.5 x 56 cm) This magnificent Blaeu map is a true masterpiece of the Golden Age of Dutch Cartography. It is one of the earliest atlas maps to utilize the Mercator projection and one of the more ornate examples of world maps to have been created during that era. Blaeu’s map was first issued in an atlas and was used continuously by him, despite new knowledge of various parts of the world provided by explorers, until 1662. The map is based on Blaeu’s monumental work dating to 1605 (circa), an oversize double-hemisphere world map of which only one copy is known to be extant. Dutch engraver Josua van de Ende reduced this grand map to standard atlas size for Blaeu, retaining and reflecting basically the same geographic information as the original. The map is both highly detailed and richly embellished, providing geographic and topographical information as well as beauty to the beholder. The great south