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Description

One of Only A Few Early Maps Focusing On Ukraine

Detailed regional map, extending from the the Ukraine, Russia, Moscovy and the Cossack Regions in the North, to the Black Sea, Circcasian Tartary, Constantiople and Transylvania in the South.

The name Ukraine was popularized in the west by Guillaume La Vasseur de Beauplan's Description d'Ukraine, first published in Rouen in 1651. The work described Ukraine as several provinces of the Kingdom of Poland lying between the borders of Muscovy and the frontiers of Transylvania.

Beauplan, a military engineer, had spent a significant period of time constructing fortresses in the region in the 1630s. In 1650, his map entitled Delineatio Specialis et Accurata Ukrainae, showed the palatinates of Kyiv, Bratslav, Podilia, Volhynia and part of Rus (Pokutia). Another of Beauplan's maps, published in 1648, entitled Delineatio Generalis Camporum Desortum vulgo Ukraina, Cum adjacentibus Provinciis, shows all of the provinces of Poland bordering on the Campus Desertorum or steppe frontier, thereby recognizing the Russian and Polish language references to Ukraine as the "steppe frontier" and leading to the popularization of the name in Western Europe.

The region was later defined by the Zboriv Treaty of 1649, which did not include Rus or Volhnia, but did include Chernihiv. This treaty established the Cossack control of the regions and severed Poland's claims and created the region which would come to be known in the west as the Ukraine. 

Reference
Bagrow, p. 91.
Johann Baptist Homann Biography

Johann Baptist Homann (1663-1724) was a mapmaker who founded the famous Homann Heirs publishing company. He lived his entire life in Bavaria, particularly in Nuremberg. Initially, Johann trained to become a priest before converting to Protestantism and working as a notary.

In 1702, Johann founded a publishing house that specialized in engravings. The firm flourished, becoming the leading map publisher in Germany and an important entity in the European map market. In 1715, Johann was named Imperial Geographer to the Holy Roman Empire by Charles VI and made a member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences. Most importantly for his business, his reputation and contacts gained him imperial printing privileges which protected his publications and recommended him to customers. Johann is best known for this Grosser Atlas ueber die ganze Welt, or the Grand Atlas of the World, published in 1716.

After Johann died in 1724, the business passed to his son, Christoph (1703-1730). Upon Christoph’s early death, the company passed to subsequent heirs, with the name of the company changing to Homann Erben, or Homann Heirs. The firm continued in business until 1848.