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Stock# 111089

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Willem Janszoon Blaeu

Title

[ Title Page -- Heightened in Gold ] Primera Parte De Los Paises Baxos, O La Belgia Real

Publication Place / Date

Amsterdam / 1650 circa

Image Dimensions

10 x 16 inches

Color

Hand Colored

Condition

VG+

Stock# 111089

$345.00

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Description

This is a title page from a section of a multi-volume Spanish edition of the Atlas Novus, published by the renowned Dutch cartographer Joan Blaeu. The page is elaborately designed in the Baroque style, featuring a heraldic composition that emphasizes the Spanish sovereignty over the Netherlands during the 17th century.

At the top, the title page prominently displays the coat of arms of the Spanish Habsburg monarchy, supported by two lions. This grand escutcheon includes the arms of various Spanish territories, symbolizing the dominion of Spain over the Southern Netherlands, also known as the Spanish Netherlands at the time. The motto Plus Ultra, meaning "Further Beyond," appears below the shield, an emblem of Spanish imperial ambitions.

Surrounding the central title text, coats of arms representing the provinces and important regions of the Spanish Netherlands are symmetrically arranged. These include Brabantia (Brabant), Limburgum (Limburg), Lutzenburgum (Luxembourg), Marchionatus S.R. Imp. (Marquisate of Antwerp), Flandria (Flanders), Artesia (Artois), Hannonia (Hainaut), Namurcum (Namur), and Machlinia (Mechelen). Each shield is vividly colored and crowned where appropriate, reflecting the noble status of these territories.

This title page is a striking example of Blaeu's skill in blending cartography, heraldry, and artistic craftsmanship, making it not only an introduction to a geographical work but also a statement of political authority and territorial control.

Condition Description

Old Color. Heightened with gold.

Willem Janszoon Blaeu Biography

Willem Janszoon Blaeu (1571-1638) was a prominent Dutch geographer and publisher. Born the son of a herring merchant, Blaeu chose not fish but mathematics and astronomy for his focus. He studied with the famous Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe, with whom he honed his instrument and globe making skills. Blaeu set up shop in Amsterdam, where he sold instruments and globes, published maps, and edited the works of intellectuals like Descartes and Hugo Grotius. In 1635, he released his atlas, Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, sive, Atlas novus.

Willem died in 1638. He had two sons, Cornelis (1610-1648) and Joan (1596-1673). Joan trained as a lawyer, but joined his father’s business rather than practice. After his father’s death, the brothers took over their father’s shop and Joan took on his work as hydrographer to the Dutch East India Company. Later in life, Joan would modify and greatly expand his father’s Atlas novus, eventually releasing his masterpiece, the Atlas maior, between 1662 and 1672.