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Drink and be Merry - Van Geelkercken's Wine and Beer World Map.

This remarkable world map, elaborately engraved by Nicholas van Geelkercken and first published by Johannes Janssonius in 1617, stands as a testament to both the cartography and cultural priorities of the early 17th-century Netherlands.

This is the second state of 1618.

The Cartography

The cartography in this map broadly follows Van Geelkercken's double-hemisphere world map of 1610 (Shirley 269). In the previous world map, Van Geelkercken included a large inland sea in North America, following information from John Smith via Henry Hudson and Jodocus Hondius; with this map, he has done away with that speculation.  Southeast and Northeast Asia are somewhat revised.

In the first state of 1617, South America and Tierra Del Fuego have not yet been revised to include the Le Maire Strait ("Lameers Straet"). Van Geelkercken's map was published shortly after the culmination of Joris van Spilbergen's circumnavigation in 1617, but the information had not made it into the map yet. Shirley complains that the map text erroneously states Spilbergen transited the Strait of Magellan in 1615; this is incorrect. Spilbergen did, in fact, transit the Strait between March 8 and May 1615.

The second state makes the change of including Le Maire's Strait, as here.

A Decorative Triumph

Beyond the map's fascinating geographic eccentricities, it is bordered with unusual vignettes that offer a window into the life and times of the Dutch in the early 17th century. Notably, the imagery is imbued with a celebratory appreciation for wine and beer. To the lower left, scenes of winemaking culminate in a vintner savoring his creation. The lower right introduces us to a refined gentleman, comfortably seated by a fireplace indoors, sipping ale from a stein. Outside, the theme of revelry continues with a dancing duo, the man triumphantly raising a stein. These vivid depictions underscore the significance of wine and beer in Dutch culture, encapsulating the society's passion for celebration and the good life. Contrastingly, in the upper left, a maiden proudly holds a bouquet and garlands of flowers, set against a backdrop of scenes of spring, including three men trying to shoot a bird from atop a tall pole, apparently an early Dutch game. The upper right corner presents a figure cherishing fruits and grains, with a montage of harvest activities in the fields and orchards unfurling behind her. These scenes and personifications represent the seasons; the upper left is spring, the upper right is fall, the lower right is winter, and the lower left is summer.

Following Petrus Plancius's 1594 world map, Dutch world map publishing saw a flourishing of decorative borders. This style placed equal emphasis on the map's cartographic details and its ornamental elements. The trend continued into the first half of the 17th century and gave us a series of spectacular and often quite rare world maps.

This map features an elaborate scene of the Last Judgement below the two hemispheres and a depiction of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden above the hemispheres. In his previous world map, these scenes were inverted.

Shirley notes of the map:

The signatures on this vividly decorative map indicate the author as Nicolaes Geelkercken and the publisher as Jan Jansson. Geographically, the map is little different from Geelkercken's [1610 world map] . . apart from a redrawn north-east coast of Asia and the omission of the lake in North America. However, the rich external decoration is quite new. In the corners there are rural scenes illustrating the four seasons, and, in the upper and lower center parts, panoramas of the Garden of Eden and the last Judgement. Some of the human details, milkmaids, reapers, skaters -- are particularly lively.

Rarity

Shirley says: "Four or five examples are extant dated 1618..."