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Description

Fine early set of maps illustrating the Straits of Magellan and the South Polar regions, illustrating the knowledge of the Straits of Magellan and the south polar regions at the end of the 16th Century.

The upper half illustrates the Straits of Magellan, prior to the voyage of Le Maire and Schouten. Patagonia is separated by a strait from a large Southland (Australis Terre Pars).

The naming of C. Della Victoria (named for Magellan's ship) and the illustration of Magellan's ship the Victoria, pays tribute to Maggellan's discovery of the strait that now bears his name.

The lower half is drawn on polar projection and shows a large Terra Australis reaching up in four peninsulas towards New Guinea (here shown as an island), 'Java Maior', Africa and towards South America. On the Southland just below 'Java Maior' are indicated three place names - Maletur Regnum, Beach (based upon Marco Polo's Account) and Lucach Regnum.

One of the best early maps to illustrate the Straits of Magellan and the South Polar regions, as they were being mapped at the end of the 16th Century.

Condition Description
Minor soiling in the margins
Reference
Tooley, R.V. (Australia) #1430; Nordenskiöld, A.E. (Facsimile) p.134; Meurer, P.H. (Cologne) Qua 83, fig.170; Clancy, R. 7.2.
Matthias Quad Biography

Matthias Quad (1557-1613), a map publisher based in Cologne, was trained in the Netherlands by Johannes van Doetecum, who also worked with the De Jodes. Quad used many De Jode maps as a base to which he added additional information and decorations. Quad was best known for his atlases, which were part of the first boom in atlases best characterized by Abraham Ortelius’ Theatrum Orbis Terrarum. In 1592, Quad released an atlas of Europe that had 38 maps. He expanded it in 1594 to 50 maps. In 1600, he expanded the collection of maps further still, this time to 82 maps, and called the atlas, Geographisch Handtbuch. All three were small in size, allowing them to compete as cheaper alternatives to the larger atlases of Ortelius, Mercator, and the De Jodes. Quad released one other atlas, in 1608, with 86 maps, the Fascilus Geographicus.