MERCATOR, Gerard (1512-1594) - Jodocus HONDIUS (1563-1611) - Atlas sive cosmographicae meditationes de fabrica mundi et fabricati figura. Amsterdam: Joducus Hondius, 1611.   A magnificent and genuine black-and-white copy, printed on strong paper and featuring a sharp, exceptionally high-quality engraving, of this renown Mercator-Hondius atlas, preserved in its elegant contemporary Dutch vellum binding.   This work represents a milestone in the history of cartography. First published by Gerardus Mercator in 1595, the atlas was subsequently expanded by Jodocus Hondius, who purchased the matrices in 1604. Further plates were added to each new edition, bringing the 107 maps of the first edition to the 150 present here, which document the state of geographical knowledge at the beginning of the 17th century.   The large maps of the continents and the final plates, among the most refined in the work, are particularly fascinating. The extraordinary representations of the New World stand out, with the general map of America, Virginia and Florida, Hispania Nova, the Caribbean Islands, America Meridionalis, and the evocative Strait of Magellan. Equally noteworthy are the refined maps of the Orient, including China, India Orientalis, the Insulae Indiae Orientalis, Japan, and Insula Ceilan, which testify to the growing European interest in Asian trade and exploration. Koeman Me 20A, B.   Folio (466 x 290mm). 5 parts in one volume, the first preceded by the engraved general title, the other four each by an engraved title with section titles: Galliae tabule greographicae, Belgii inferioris geographicae tabule, Germaniae tabule geographicae, Italian, Clavian, and Greek geographic tables.   150 splendid engraved maps, all double-page except one full-page, on guards, initials, endpapers, and a few diagrams in the text, with an index of Italian and Greek maps applied at the end (engraved title reinforced at inner margin with minor defects, light foxing and occasional browning, a few leaves with old reinforcements in margins, a very small single wormhole on some leaves). Some editions include double-page portraits of Mercator and Hondius, not present here.   Splendid contemporary Dutch vellum decorated in gilt on spine, with original green laces (some restorations to hinges, minor rubbing). For a complete list of maps, please contact the department.

Estimation € 25,000 - 35,000

Vendu (frais inclus) € 32,000