Enlarged later edition
Handsome example, in a contemporary binding, of this scarce Stuart-era geography of the world, with a map of the Americas by Senex showing California as an island. California is described on page 420 as "arido, sterili atque deserto" ("dry, barren, and desolate").
Shirley notes:
The maps in the 1711 London edition of Cluver's Intoductio are based on those in the Amsterdam Wolters edition of 1697, with the majority now re-engraved by John Senex...The index of maps refers to 46 maps derived from the previous edition and 15 additional items but these totals include prints and diagrams and in several instances the pagination instructions have not been followed.
Though the present volume does not have "Typus Ventorum" and "Veteris Germaniae" (both of which appeared in the 1683 edition), neither do the copies in the Biblioteca Nacional de España, David O. McKay Library at Brigham Young Idaho, or Wellcome Collection. We have not found a 1711 edition with these two plates; they were possibly considered redundant to "Brietius' Draughts of the Winds" and "Cellarii Germania antiqua". "Brietius' Draughts of the Winds" also appears to have been engraved for the English audience.
Plate List
- Systemata Mundi
- Brietius' Draughts of the Winds and their names according to the Ancients and Moderns
- Typus intervallorum variarum gentium
- Schema demonstans Terram esse globosam
- Typus Orbis Terrarum
- Summa Europae Antiquae Descriptio
- Hispaniae Veteris & Novae Descriptio
- Gallia Antiqua & Nova
- Germanie Cisrhenanae
- An Exact Map of the Principal Rivers in France
- Helvetia
- Hodiernae Belgicae sive Germaniae Inferioris
- Prospectus Inundationis Bataviae horrendiae
- Veteris et Novae Britanniae Descriptio
- Cellarii Germania antiqua
- Populorum Germaniae inter Rhenum et Albim Descriptio ut inter Casesaris et Trajani imperia Incoluerunt [on sheet with:] Populorum Germaniae... ut circa I. Caesaris
- Germanorum Veterum Vestimenta & Arma
- Suevia, quae cis Codanum suit sinum Antiqua descriptio
- Vindeliciae et Norici Conterminarumque terrarum antiqua descriptio
- Nova Totius Germaniae Descriptio
- The General Diet of the Empire With the Order of Its Different Colleges
- Regni Daniae Accuratissima Delineatio
- Suecia Dania et Norvegia
- Lapponum vestimenta, &c.
- Italia Antiqua
- Italiae Gallicae sive Galliae Cisalpinae
- Etruriae Latii Umbriae Piceni Sabinorum et Marsorum Vetus et Nova Descriptio
- Campaniae, Samnii, Apuliae, Lucaniae, Brutiorum Vetus et Nova Descriptio
- Italia Nova
- Imperium Romanum
- Tabula Freti Siculi Charibdis et Scyllae
- Siciliae Antiquae Descriptio
- Corsicae Antiqua Descriptio (Corsica and Sardinia)
- Veteris et Nova Pannoniae et Illyrici Descriptio
- Hellas seu Graecia Universa
- Epirus hodie Canina
- Graecia Antiqua Sophiani
- Peloponnesus nunc Morea
- Achaia quae et Hellas hodie Iuadia
- Macedoniae et Thessaliae Regiones
- Daciarum Moesiarum et Thraciae Vetus et Nova Descriptio
- The Cataract in the Danube call'd Strudel [and] The Cataract in the Danube call'd Wurbel
- Sarmatia et Scythia Russia et Tartaria Europaea
- Veteris et Novae Regni Poloniae Magniq. Ducatus, Lithuaniae Cumsuis Palatinatibus ac Confiniis Descriptio
- Prussiae Nova Tabula
- Asia Antiqua et Nova
- Scythia et Tartaria Asiatica
- Imperii Sinarum Nova Descriptio
- Indiae Orientalis et Insularum Adjacentium Antiqua et Nova Descriptio
- Persia sive Sophorum Regnum cum Armenia, Assyria, Mesopotamia et Babilonia
- Chersonesi quea hodie Natolia Descriptio
- Totius Terrae Sanctae Delineatio
- [Temple of Solomon]
- Syriae sive Soriae Descriptio
- Situs Chorographia et Flumina Paradisi in Terra Canaan
- Africa Antiqua et Nova
- Aegyptus et Cyrene
- Mauritania et Africa Propria nunc Barbaria
- America
Provenance
Edward William Harcourt. His armorial bookplate. See Catalogue of The Library of E.W. Harcourt, Esq., M.P., at Nuneham Park, Oxfordshire, 1883, page 61.
A4, a4, B-3I4, 3K2-3U2, (59 engraved pl.) Lacks "Typus Ventorum" and "Veteris Germaniae" called for in index (as common).
Philipp Clüver (also spelled Klüwer, Cluwer, or Cluvier, Latinized as Philippus Cluverius and Philippi Cluverii) was an Early Modern German geographer and historian who made significant contributions to the field of historical geography.
Clüver was born in Danzig (Gdańsk), in Royal Prussia, a province of the Kingdom of Poland. He initially spent time at the Polish court of Sigismund III Vasa before commencing the study of law at the University of Leiden in the Dutch Republic. However, he soon shifted his focus to history and geography under the influence of Joseph Scaliger. Clüver's father, who was a Münzmeister (coin master) in Danzig, provided him with a scientific education but ceased financial support when Clüver diverged from his initial studies.
Clüver’s travels took him across Hungary to Bohemia, where he engaged in military service for a few years. During his time in Bohemia, he translated a defense of Baron Popel Lobkowitz into Latin, an act that nearly led to imperial sanctions upon his return to Leiden. With the support of his friends at Leiden, he managed to avoid these sanctions.
Clüver also journeyed on foot through England, Scotland, and France before settling back in Leiden. After 1616, he received a regular pension from the university and was appointed as a geographer, tasked with overseeing the university's library.
Philipp Clüver was renowned as an antiquary and geographer, gaining recognition for his general study of the geography of Antiquity. His approach combined classical literary sources with empirical knowledge from his extensive travels and local inspections, laying the groundwork for the field of historical geography.
His first significant work in 1611, Commentarius de tribus Rheni alveis, et ostiis; item. De Quinque populis quondam accolis; scilicet de Toxandris, Batavis, Caninefatibus, Frisiis, ac Marsacis, focused on the lower reaches of the Rhine and its inhabitants during Roman times, striking a chord with the Dutch during their struggle for independence. His Germaniae Antiquae Libri Tres (1616) drew upon Tacitus and other Latin authors to explore ancient Germany. Sicilia Antiqua (1619), which included notes on Sardinia and Corsica, became a valuable resource with references from ancient writers and detailed maps. His Introductio in Universam Geographiam, published posthumously from 1624, became the first comprehensive modern geography and a standard textbook in the field.
Clüver was also known for his contributions to mathematical and theological writings and is remembered by cartography enthusiasts for his edition of Ptolemy's Geographia and his miniature atlases. His major works include:
- Introductio in Universam Geographiam (1624-29, posthumous)
- Commentarius de tribus Rheni alveis, et ostiis; item. De Quinque populis quondam accolis; scilicet de Toxandris, Batavis, Caninefatibus, Frisiis, ac Marsacis (1611)
- Germaniae Antiquae Libri Tres (1616)
- Siciliae Antiquae Libri Duo (1619)
- Sardinia et Corsica Antiqua (1619)
- Italia Antiqua (1624, posthumous)
Of these works, his Introductio in Universam Geographiam would continue to be published well into the 18th Century in a number of editions.