Atlas Maior, sive cosmographie Blaviana

by BLAEU, Joannes (1596-1673)

[30 Day Return Guarantee] Price: $375,000.00

Book Description

Amsterdam: Johannes Blaeu, 1662 11 volumes, folio (21 4/8 x 14 inches). Index leaf at the end of each volume (some minor creasing and dust-soiling), 9 engraved HAND-COLORED FRONTISPIECES HEIGHTENED WITH GOLD, 11 letter-press title-pages with hand-colored vignettes (MOST HEIGHTENED WITH GOLD), 13 divisional half-titles and 594 engraved maps, plans, views and plates, most double-page (some folding, full-page or within text), including 9 plates of Tycho Brahe's astronomical observatory (one with his portrait) in volume I, views of Stonehenge and Avebury in volume V, 7 plates of the Escorial in volume IX, ALL HAND-COLORED IN A CONTEMPORARY HAND (some light spotting and browning). CONTEMPORARY DUTCH VELLUM, decorated in gilt, contemporary manuscript shelf marks, all edges gilt, remains of most silk ties (lightly dust soiled, extremities a bit worn). THE MOST IMPORTANT DUTCH ATLAS OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY This splendid, sweeping atlas represents the eleven-volume first edition of Johannes Blaeu's celebrated cartographic masterpiece, the "Atlas Maior", published in Amsterdam in 1662-1665. With different volumes devoted to specific parts of the world, including Northern Europe; Northern and Eastern Europe; Germany; Netherlands; England and Wales; Scotland and Ireland; France and Switzerland; Italy; Spain, Portugal and Africa; Asia; and America. Blaeu lavished meticulous attention on every corner of the globe. No other atlas ever published was as costly, or had such an exalted place in society. The "Atlas Maior" was such a symbol of status that it became the traditional state gift presented by the Dutch government, its prestige owing to the remarkable standards of production involved. In terms of the quality of engraving, beauty of ornament, coloring, typography and paper, the atlas has no equal, and the maps were on the forefront of geographical knowledge and discovery. One especially significant volume is the "Atlas Sinensis", devoted to China and the Far East. Compiled by the Italian Jesuit Martino Martini, it represents the first atlas of China produced in the western world. The atlas of America, too, occupies a singular place in the history of cartography, for its twenty-three maps helped to shape contemporary conceptions regarding the geography of the New World more than almost any other source. Included in that volume is a general map of the continent, famed for its side panels that contain costumed figures and city views, as well as a distinguished series of regional maps. The map of Virginia was the first version of John Smith's map of the area surrounding Chesapeake Bay to be published in continental Europe. The scope of the "Atlas Maior" as a whole was unprecedented, as was the lavishness of its decoration, which encompasses elaborate cartouches, often with costumed figures and the flora and fauna of the region described, decorative swags, garlands of fruit and coats of arms, all enlivened with rich color. The Blaeu family firm was founded by Willem Janzoon Blaeu (1571-1638; ) in 1596. He was eventually joined by his sons, Cornelius (1616-1648) and Joan (1596-1673). The firm became the most productive cartographic establishment in the Netherlands until it was destroyed by fire in 1672. The elder Blaeu initiated the great series of atlases that culminated in the "Atlas Maior", in which Joannes Blaeu incorporated much of the geographical knowledge bequeathed him by his father. This breathtaking atlas represents the zenith of the Golden Age of Dutch Cartography. Lloyd Arnold Brown, "The World Encompassed", exh. cat. (Baltimore, 1952), n. 149; Philip D. Burden, The Mapping of North America: A List of Printed Maps 1511-1670 (Rickmansworth, 1996), 474; Koeman I (Bl 56); Phillips 3430. Purchased for $162,000 at Sotheby's 2nd December 1999, lot 420. .

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