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Description

Visscher's map of Northern Italy, Switzerland, and Austria, colored according to region and focusing on the Po River Valley. The map is fantastically depicted, with a host of detail.

Cities of importance are highlighted in red, these populate the many branches of the northern Italian rivers. The alps are magnificently depicted as rounded hilltops in the north, and detail extends as far as Lucerne and Brixen. The eastern part of the map shows the regions controlled by the Venetian city-state, and an oversized Venice is shown with miniature renditions of its churches. At the time, Venice, Hapsburg Austria, and various other Italian city-states  were vying for control of Tyrol and adjacent regions.

This map appears in several editions of Visscher's Atlas Minor, published around 1700.

Condition Description
Nice original hand-color. Vertical fold toning. Minor loss in bottom margin, slightly into image. Repaired with tape on verso.
Nicolaes Visscher II Biography

Nicolaas Visscher II (1649-1702) was a prominent Dutch cartographer and publisher during the late 17th century. He was the grandson of Claes Janszoon Visscher and the son of Nicolaes Visscher I, both of whom were also renowned cartographers in their own right. After his father's death in 1679, Nicolaas Visscher II took over the family's map publishing business.

In 1680, he married Elizabeth Verseyl from Gouda, and in 1682, he obtained a new privilege from the States of Holland and West Friesland to protect his maps and publications from being copied. Visscher II continued the family tradition of producing high-quality maps, atlases, and globes, often with elaborate and decorative elements. He maintained the Visscher family's reputation for accuracy and craftsmanship in the competitive world of Dutch cartography until his death in 1702. After his death, his widow, Elizabeth, and later his son, also named Nicolaas, continued the business until around 1726.