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Stock# 68792
Description

The First "Atlas" To Be So-Named. In a Wonderful Contemporary Binding with Beautiful Original Hand-Color.

A handsome example of one of the greatest atlases of the 17th century, the so-called Mercator-Hondius Atlas.

The book includes a fantastic map of the world (Shirley 157), and many highly desirable maps of the Americas and Asia, though the core of it is a detailed treatment of European subject, many by Gerard Mercator himself.

The Mercator-Hondius atlas is famous for, among other things, popularizing the use of the title "Atlas" to refer to a formal compilation of maps. Mercator chose the word, he wrote, "to honor the Titan, Atlas, King of Mauritania, a learned philosopher, mathematician, and astronomer." 

Mercator began work on his magnum opus fairly late in life, at the age of 51, when he was retained by Duke William IV of Kleve as his cosmographer. Mercator had initially hoped to write the text, draw the maps, and engrave the plates for what was to be a five-book cosmography. The first book was to cover creation; the second the heavens; the third geography; the fourth history; and the fifth chronology. Gerard Mercator managed to complete the section on France, the Low Countries, and Germany, as well as the part on Italy, the Balkans, and Greece, before his death on December 2, 1594. After that point, the work was taken up by his son Rumold Mercator.

In 1602, the plates for the atlas were acquired by Jodocus Hondius, the great patriarch of the Hondius mapmaking dynasty. The atlas continued to be published by the Hondius family before being taken over by the Jansson branch of descendants.

Edition

This is the 1619 French-language edition of the Mercator-Hondius Atlas Sive Cosmographicae (Koeman Me26A). It originally appeared with a Latin title-page, which is lacking in this example.

In this edition, for the first time, a Mercator map is replaced with a new Hondius plate, namely the map of Gallia (46). The French maps are updated for this French-language edition, with the following seven maps added: Gallia; Carte Du Pais De Xaintonge; Picardia; Champagne Comitatus Campania; Beauvaisis Comitatus Belovacium; Bourbonois Borbonium Ducatuts; and Quercy Caduricum.

Koeman locates examples of this edition in S.M.A.; Bibl. Cant., Fribourg; K.B. Leuven; and the Saltykov Publ. Libr. St. Petersburg.

Condition Description
Folio. 3 parts, final part in 3 sections, in one volume. Full contemporary gilt vellum, with large strapwork tools at center and corners of paneling. (Minor soiling to the covers but overall Very Good.) General title lacking, *-****2, A2, B3, C5, engraved dual portrait of Gerard Mercator and Jodocus Hondius heightened in gold, 156 double-page engraved maps, all of which in fine original hand-color, the text including map versos, numbered to 378 pages, A2-[I2] index. (Some variable light paper toning, marginal marks and soiling, original gelatin sizing toning, and offsetting of oxidized pigments; few marginal repairs, mostly to the bottom edge. Only one map, Zelandia, with a small amount of oxidation loss. Contents mostly in Very Good or better condition.)
Reference
Koeman Me 26A.
Gerard Mercator Biography

Gerard Mercator is one of the most famous cartographers of all time. Mercator was born in Flanders and educated at the Catholic University in Leuven. After his graduation in 1532, Mercator worked with Gemma Frisius, a prominent mathematician, and Gaspar a Myrica, a goldsmith and engraver. Together, these men produced globes and scientific instruments, allowing Mercator to hone his skills.

With his wife, Barbara, Mercator had six children: Arnold, Emerentia, Dorothes, Bartholomeus, Rumold, and Catharina.  In 1552, Mercator moved to Duisburg from Leuven, where he lived for the rest of his life. In 1564, he was appointed the official cosmographer to the court of Duke Wilhelm of Cleve.

Mercator’s most important contribution was the creation and popularization of a projection which now bears his name. On Mercator projection maps, all parallels and meridians are drawn at right angles to each other, with the distance between the parallels extending towards the poles. This allowed for accurate latitude and longitude calculation and also allowed navigational routes to be drawn using straight lines, a huge advantage for sailors as this allowed them to plot courses without constant recourse to adjusting compass readings.

Mercator’s other enduring contribution to cartography is the term “atlas”, which was first used to describe his collection of maps gathered in one volume. The Mercator atlas was published in 1595, a year after Mercator’s death, thanks to the work of his sons, particularly Rumold, and his grandsons.