Novus Orbis seu descriptionis Indiae Occidentalis libri XVIII .... Novis tabulis geographicis et variis animantium, plantarum fructuumque iconibus illustrati

by LAET, Joannes de (1593-1649)

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Leiden: Elzevier, 1633. Folio. (13 1/8 x 8 1/2 inches). Engraved title with elaborate emblematic and architectonic border, 14 double-page engraved maps by Hessel Gerritsz, 68 woodcut illustrations. Near-contemporary marbled calf gilt, the covers with a large central shaped arabesque of strap-work, scrolling foliage, flowers and pomegranates, all within a simple outer border of a single fillet and a dog-tooth roll, expertly rebacked to style, spine in seven compartments with raised bands, lettered in gilt in the second, the others with repeat decoration in gilt, comb-marbled pastedowns. The first Latin edition of 'arguably the finest description of the Americas published in the seventeenth century' (Burden), the maps include the first to use the names Manhattan, New Amsterdam (for New York) and Massachusetts, and 'one of the foundation maps of Canada' (Burden) This work is one of the most important 17th-century New World histories. It is a cornucopia of early knowledge of the Americas which was compiled by de Laet, a director of the newly formed Dutch West India Company who had access to all the latest geographic knowledge. Pierre Francois Xavier de Charlevoix (1682-1761), writing in the 18th century, noted that the work as a whole 'is full of the most excellent and curious details of the natural history, and the character, manners, and customs of the American aborigines, derived from the reports of the European mission establishments in America.' The present first edition in Latin was preceded by two editions in Dutch (the first of which was published in 1625). De Laet continued to add to and improve the work throughout his lifetime: the present edition contains 14 maps as opposed to the 10 in the 1625 edition and the text has been considerably expanded. The maps are by Hessel Gerritsz and are some of the very best to appear up to that time. Gerritsz had trained under Willem Blaeu but had been chosen in preference to his old master when the appointment of cartographer to the Dutch West India Company was made. The charming textual illustrations are chiefly of biological or botanical specimens, and are generally surprisingly accurate for their time, and each of the eighteen constituent books is turned over to the consideration of a different region of the New World. The quality of the maps can be gauged from the fact that they served as a prototype for the mapping of America, with a number of them being reused in various later 17th-century atlases. The maps are titled as follows: 1.'Americae sive Indiae occidentalis tabula generalis' [Burden 229 'The best west coast delineation to date'] 2.'Maiores minoresque insulae. Hispaniola, Cuba, Lucaiae et Caribes' 3.'Nova Francia et regiones adiacentes' [Burden 230 'One of the foundation maps of Canada'] 4.'Nova Anglia, Novum Belgium et Virginia' [Burden 231 'The first [map] to use the names Manhattan and N. Amsterdam. It is also the earliest to use... Massachusets (sic.)'; Cumming 35; Schwartz & Ehrenberg p. 105], with an inset 'Bermuda majori mole expressa'. 5. 'Florida. et regiones vicinae' [Burden 232 'Its influence was quite considerable'; Cumming 34] 6. 'Nova Hispania, Nova Gallicia, Guatamala' [Burden 215 'The delineations of the coastlines here was the most accurate to date'] 7. 'Tierra Firma item Nuevo Reyno de Granada atque Popayan' 8. 'Peru' 9. 'Chili' 10. 'Provinciae sitae ad fretum Magellanis itemque fretum Le Maire' 11. 'Paraguay, o prov. de rio de la Plata: cum adiacentibus Provinciis, quas vocant Tucuman, et Sta. Cruz de la Sierra' 12. 'Provinciua de Brasil cum adiacentibus provinciis' 13. 'Guaiania sive provinciae intra rio de las Amazonas atque rio de Yviapari sive Orinoque' 14.'Venezuela, atque occidentalis pars Novae Andalusiae' Alden II:337; Asher 3; Bell L33; Borba de Moraes I, p.451; cf. Brunet III,741; European Americana 633/65; JCB (3)II:246; cf. Johnston Cleveland 196; Rodrigues 1352; Sabin 38557; Streeter Sale 37; Streit II:1619; Tiele 628; Vail 84; Willems 382

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