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Rare Sea Chart of Australia, Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean

Rare early pair of sea charts of Australia, the Indian Ocean and contiguous regions from China to Africa and the Middle East, published by the Jacob & Caspar Lootsman.

The charts illustrate the Dutch sphere of influence in Southeast Asia and Australia. The charts include details of the Dutch discoveries in Australia of Hartog (1616); Houtman (1619); the Leeuwin (1622) and Carstenszoon (1623); as well as de Wits (1628); and Tasmans second voyage in 1644 (Northern Australia) and Peter Nuyts exploits (1627).

The charts are relatively close copies of an equally rare pair of charts by Johannes van Loon, first published in 1661. The charts were first issued by Jacob and Casper Theunis Jacobsz in about 1666, who took the name Lootsman (sea pilot) to avoid confusion with another Amsterdam publisher of the name Jacobsz.

Both the Van Loon and Jacobsz charts are in turn based on Hendrik Doncker's sea chart of 1659, although the map is now oriented such that the map extends a bit further to the South and West.

The Lootsman Family of Sea Chart Makers

Anthonie Theunis Jacobsz founded a printing and publishing business in Amsterdam, specializing in pilot books and sea atlases. As he died at a comparatively early age most of the numerous editions of his works appeared after his death published by his sons, Jacob and Caspar, who took the name 'Lootsman' (sea pilot) to distinguish them from another printer of the name Jacobsz.

Following Blaeu and Colom, Anthonie Jacobsz was the most important compiler of sea charts in Amsterdam in the first half of the seventeenth century. In his new ZeeSpiegel issued in 1643 he increased the number of charts normally included in these books and enlarged them to folio size, which evidently proved popular.

Editions in many forms appeared until 1715 and they were copied or reprinted by Pieter Goos, Hendrick Doncker and Jan Jansson, sometimes in competition with each other but usually in cooperation with the Lootsman brothers.

Rarity

The charts are very rare on the market. We know of no other pair of the charts offered together in more than 30 years. Our research suggests that there are only a few surviving examples of the pair.