The First Atlas To Be So-Named.
A fine, full-original-color example of one of the greatest cartographic works of the 17th century, the so-called Mercator-Hondius Atlas.
This is an important enlarged edition from the second generation of Mercator's magnum opus, in which Rumold and Gerard Mercator's work was expanded upon by Cornelis Claesz and Jodocus Hondius. At this crucial point in the atlas's history, it evolved from an idealist's project into a commercial enterprise from which the great multi-volume Dutch atlases of the 17th century sprang forth.
Mercator's Atlas represents a comprehensive and entirely original work. Unlike the maps in Abraham Ortelius's Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, which were primarily compilations, Mercator's maps were entirely original creations. Koeman notes that Mercator rigorously verified contemporary geographical knowledge against fundamental sources and produced new maps based on his unique conception, a method that required significantly more time than mere copying. Mercator's objective was not to compete with Ortelius's best-selling atlas but to provide a more accurate and original representation of the world (Koeman II, p.282).
The atlas includes some of the most significant maps of its time. Mercator's double-hemisphere world map, the great mapmaker's only obtainable world map, shows the definitive state of cartographic progress in the latest 16th and earliest 17th centuries. The polar map - the first ever to focus on the Arctic region - is the defining representation of the four northern islands. This edition of the map is updated with information from the Barentsz voyage to Novaya Zembla (likely by way of the Barentsz map). Numerous additional important maps appear throughout the atlas, with notable maps of the Americas, Asia, and Africa.
This is the tenth edition of Mercator's seminal work, bound in contemporary leather, with a contemporary provenance suggesting it was in the Library of Jacopo Soldano, who served as the tutor to Leopoldo d'Medici, who would have been 13 years old at the time of the publication of this work. The first edition of Mercator's world atlas was published posthumous in Duisburg in 1595 and included 107 maps. Over the next 40 years, the work was significantly enlarged and expanded by Hondius and his progeny.
The atlas is complete with a world map (Shirley 157), and the four continent maps, including the map of America (Burden 87). Additionally, it contains regional maps of Northern and Eastern Europe, the Iberian Peninsula, France and Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Southeastern Europe, Africa, Asia, and America, including a general map (Burden 150) and specific maps of Virginia and Florida (Burden 151). Koeman notes that for this edition, Hondius added an additional 9 maps not present in the 1623 Latin edition and used woodcut initials with biblical illustrations.
A History of the Mercator-Hondius Atlases
The Mercator, and later Mercator-Hondius, atlas is noted for popularizing the use of the term "Atlas" to refer to a formal compilation of maps. Mercator chose the word, he wrote:
"to honor the Titan, Atlas, King of Mauritania, a learned philosopher, mathematician, and astronomer."
Mercator began work on this project fairly late in life, at the age of 51, when Duke William IV of Kleve retained him as his cosmographer. Mercator initially hoped to write the text, draw the maps, and engrave the plates for what was to be a five-book cosmography. The first of these books was to cover creation; the second the heavens; the third geography; the fourth history; and the fifth chronology. Gerard Mercator managed to complete the section on France, the Low Countries, and Germany, as well as the part on Italy, the Balkans, and Greece, before his death on December 2, 1594. After that point, the work was taken up by his son Rumold Mercator.
Around 1604, the plates for the atlas were acquired by Jodocus Hondius, the great patriarch of the Hondius mapmaking dynasty. The atlas continued to be published by the Hondius family before being taken over by the Jansson branch of descendants. The first Mercator-Hondius edition was produced in 1606 in Amsterdam.
Edition
This is the 1630 Latin-language edition of the Mercator-Hondius Atlas Sive Cosmographicae.
Rarity
The atlas is often found uncolored and lacking maps.
Such attractive examples of the 1630 Mercator-Hondius Atlas sive cosmographicae in a contemporary binding and original color are rare on the market.
RBH notes only 2 examples: Sotheby's 2013, £64,900; and Sotheby's 2003, £70,000.
Provenance
Jacopo Soldano, his engraved bookplate.
This likely the same person who served as the tutor to Leopoldo d'Medici (1617-1675), a great collector of rare books, paintings (the Venetian collection at the Uffizi is inherited from him), drawings, statues, coins and self-portraits. Leopoldo would go on to experiment with telescopic lenses and a variety of scientific instruments, commissioning thermometers, astrolabes, calorimeters, quadrants, hygrometers, and other ingenious mechanical devices. These instruments were displayed in abundance to visitors at the Pitti Palace.
Soldano's engraved ex-libris is an early Italian bookplate and is possibly contemporary with this 1630 Atlas. The 1905 Collection du Prince de C.P.D. Ex-Libris Anciens et Modernes Français et Étrangers lists Soldano's plate among 17 other Italian bookplates from the 16th century, with none earlier. That being said, 16th-century Italian ex-libris are known.
A2, **2 (**2 signed as B2), chi2, C4, 2chi1, D-E4, F6, G2-3A2, 3B4-3C4, 3D2-3F2, 3chi1, 3G2, 3X1, 3Y2-4N2, 4chi1, 4O2-5I2, 4chi1 (lacks 4chi1), 4M2-6R2, 5chi1 (lacks 5chi1), 5S2-9C2.
Jodocus Hondius the Elder (1563-1612), or Joost de Hondt, was one of the most prominent geographers and engravers of his time. His work did much to establish Amsterdam as the center of cartographic publishing in the seventeenth century. Born in Wakken but raised in Ghent, the young Jodocus worked as an engraver, instrument maker, and globe maker.
Hondius moved to London in 1584, fleeing religious persecution in Flanders. There, he worked for Richard Hakluyt and Edward Wright, among others. Hondius also engraved the globe gores for Emery Molyneux’s pair of globes in 1592; Wright plotted the coastlines. His engraving and nautical painting skills introduced him to an elite group of geographic knowledge seekers and producers, including the navigators Drake, Thomas Cavendish, and Walter Raleigh, as well as engravers like Theodor De Bry and Augustine Ryther. This network gave Hondius access to manuscript charts and descriptions which he then translated into engraved maps.
In 1593 Hondius returned to Amsterdam, where he lived for the rest of his life. Hondius worked in partnership with Cornelis Claesz, a publisher, and maintained his ties to contacts in Europe and England. For example, from 1605 to 1610, Hondius engraved the plates for John Speed’s Theatre of the Empire of Great Britaine.
One of Hondius’ most successful commercial ventures was the reprinting of Mercator’s atlas. When he acquired the Mercator plates, he added 36 maps, many engraved by him, and released the atlas under Mercator’s name, helping to solidify Mercator’s reputation posthumously. Hondius died in 1612, at only 48 years of age, after which time his son of the same name and another son, Henricus, took over the business, including the reissuing of the Mercator atlas. After 1633, Hondius the Elder’s son-in-law, Johannes Janssonius, was also listed as a co-publisher for the atlas.
Gerard Mercator is one of the most famous cartographers of all time. Mercator was born in Flanders and educated at the Catholic University in Leuven. After his graduation in 1532, Mercator worked with Gemma Frisius, a prominent mathematician, and Gaspar a Myrica, a goldsmith and engraver. Together, these men produced globes and scientific instruments, allowing Mercator to hone his skills.
With his wife, Barbara, Mercator had six children: Arnold, Emerentia, Dorothes, Bartholomeus, Rumold, and Catharina. In 1552, Mercator moved to Duisburg from Leuven, where he lived for the rest of his life. In 1564, he was appointed the official cosmographer to the court of Duke Wilhelm of Cleve.
Mercator’s most important contribution was the creation and popularization of a projection which now bears his name. On Mercator projection maps, all parallels and meridians are drawn at right angles to each other, with the distance between the parallels extending towards the poles. This allowed for accurate latitude and longitude calculation and also allowed navigational routes to be drawn using straight lines, a huge advantage for sailors as this allowed them to plot courses without constant recourse to adjusting compass readings.
Mercator’s other enduring contribution to cartography is the term “atlas”, which was first used to describe his collection of maps gathered in one volume. The Mercator atlas was published in 1595, a year after Mercator’s death, thanks to the work of his sons, particularly Rumold, and his grandsons.