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A beautifully engraved and richly decorated 17th-century map of Westmorland, from Blaeu’s celebrated Atlas Novus, one of the most influential and finely produced atlas projects of the Dutch Golden Age. Following Christopher Saxton’s and John Speed’s earlier maps, this map presents the county of Westmorland with remarkable precision and embellishment, oriented with north at the top.
The map features Appleby, Kendal, Kirkby Lonsdale, Kirkby Stephen, and surrounding parishes, with mountainous terrain rendered pictorially and rivers, roads, and settlements carefully engraved. The Lake District’s southern fringe is visible at left, and the counties of Cumberland, Yorkshire, and Lancashire are noted on the borders.
At upper left, the Royal Arms of England are supported by a lion and unicorn; at right, the shields of local noble families, including those of Neville, Bedford, Somerset, and Vaux, are displayed in vibrant color. In the lower corners, a whimsical scale bar with a mounted figure gesturing to a surveyor and a title cartouche framed by cherubs add visual appeal and baroque charm.
Joan, or Johannes, Blaeu (1596-1673) was the son of Willem Janszoon Blaeu. He inherited his father’s meticulous and striking mapmaking style and continued the Blaeu workshop until it burned in 1672. Initially, Joan trained as a lawyer, but he decided to join his father’s business rather than practice.
After his father’s death in 1638, Joan and his brother, Cornelis, took over their father’s shop and Joan took on his work as hydrographer to the Dutch East India Company. Joan brought out many important works, including Nova et Accuratissima Terrarum Orbis Tabula, a world map to commemorate the Peace of Westphalia which brought news of Abel Tasman’s voyages in the Pacific to the attention of Europe. This map was used as a template for the world map set in the floor of the Amsterdam Town Hall, the Groote Burger-Zaal, in 1655.
Joan also modified and greatly expanded his father’s Atlas novus, first published in 1635. All the while, Joan was honing his own atlas. He published the Atlas maior between 1662 and 1672. It is one of the most sought-after atlases by collectors and institutions today due to the attention to the detail, quality, and beauty of the maps. He is also known for his town plans and wall maps of the continents. Joan’s productivity slammed to a halt in 1672, when a fire completely destroyed his workshop and stock. Joan died a year later and is buried in the Westerkerk in Amsterdam.
