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Cornelis De Jode: Novae Guineae Forma, & Situs
Title: Novae Guineae Forma, & Situs Map Maker: Cornelis De Jode
Description: Fine example of the first printed map of Australia, one of the rarest and most highly sought after of all early maps of the region. The map appeared in the second edition of De Jode's rare Speculum Orbis Terrae, one of the rarest and most sought after of all late 16th Century Atlases and now virtually unobtainable on the market, especially in full orginal color. The map is one of two seminal maps covering the Pacific, the second showing the NW Coast of America. The map provides a relatively reasonable general depiction of the Queensland Coast. Recorded European maritime activity in this region in the 16th Century include Alvaro de Saavedra sent from Mexico by Fernand Cortez in 1527 who reputedly sailed 500 miles down the coast of Papuas during one of his attempts to return to Mexico. Another vessel under the command of the Spaniard Grijalva spent considerable time exploring the region in 1536. Due to a mutiny during the voyage, very few members of this expedition survived to give an account of what they found. Portuguese exploration along the east coast of Australia in the 1520s are symptomatic of other probable European maritime activity along this coast. These realities mixed with medieval creatures such as a gryphon, mermaids and other sea monsters indicate the antiquity from which this map was produced. A fine dark impression of this rare and important map. Condition Description: Fine dark impression. Very minor printer's crease. References: Schilder 13.
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