Fine dark impression of this decorative early World Map by Nicolaus Visscher, published in Amsterdam in 1657.
Nicolaus Visscher's world map of 1657 was the first of several maps which he produced for Dutch Bibles in the middle of the 17th Century and would become the prototype for Dutch Bible maps published over the next 100 years.
Australia and Van Diemen's Land are shown, but the north coast of Australia discovered during Abel Tasman's second voyage of 1644 is not yet shown. Two Celestial hemispheres are included, along with a lengthy annotation on the discovery of America and recent cirumnavigations. The allegorical figures in the corners represent the four continents (each named).
This is the first edition of the map, which appeared in Ravenstyn Bibles in 1660, 1662, 1667 and 1670.