"Carte particolare del'Isola di Cuba e di Jamaica con il Capo della Floride e l'Isole Intorno"From: Dell' Arcano del Mare by Dudley, Sir Robert (1574-1649) - 1646

Florence, 1646. AN IMPORTANT MAP OF THE WEST INDIES FROM THE FIRST ENGLISH SEA ATLAS THE FIRST TO USE THE MERCATOR PROJECTION THROUGHOUT Framed size: 40" x 29" Paper size: 30 1/4" x 19 1/2" Although Dell' Arcano del Mare was published in Italy, it is considered the first printed English nautical atlas, and Dudley's monumental work was the only exception to the total dominance of sea atlas production by the Dutch for nearly a century. Arguably the most sumptuous marine atlas ever produced, it contained no less than 146 sea charts, and dozens of illustrations and working diagrams. It was superior to any previous work in that the charts illustrated the whole world, the first time any outside of Europe had been included. Dell' Arcano del Mare was also the first atlas to show the prevailing winds, currents and magnetic deviation. One of the great marine atlases of all time, the work was magnificently engraved, an encyclopedia of 17th-century knowledge regarding the seas. The distinctive and stately calligraphic style of this map, which shows the Atlantic coast of North America from Labrador down to the present-day southeastern United States, is a hallmark of Dudley's elegant charts. One of the first highly accurate sea charts to focus on this vast area, this is an important map from an extremely significant atlas. . Book.