First Edition, Second Issue of the First Miniature Mercator-Hondius Atlas.
This is the "corrected" 1607 issue of Hondius-Claesz-Janssonius Atlas Minor, the first edition of the famed Mercator-Hondius miniature atlas.
7 African maps, 11 Asian and Middle Eastern maps, 5 American maps, 6 ancient and biblical maps.
The atlas was first printed, hastily and sloppily, in 1607 - Koeman and Van Der Krogt suggest this was because the book needed to be ready for the Spring 1607 Frankfurt book fair -
Editions, Variants, and Rarity
Evidently a variant between Koeman Me 186 and the next Latin-language edition (1610A) Me 189.
- Updated engraved title page, with the continents and their names engraved on Atlas's globe.
- Printed page numbers.
- Page 571: Morea is printed with text on verso, not pasted down to a map of Candia.
- Page 583: Egypt is printed with text on verso, not pasted down to a map of Macedonia.
Maps
1. Typus orbis terrarum
2. Europa
3. Africæ descriptio = Africa
4. Asia
5. Americae descrip. = America
6. Polus Arcticus : cum vicinis regionibus [3 ancillary s: Farre Insulę | Frislant Insula | Scetland Insulæ
7. Island = Islandia
8. Anglia Scotia et Hibernia = Britannia
9. Irlandia
10. Udrone
11. Ultonia Conatia et Media = Vltonia Connacia & Media
12. Vltonia Oriental
13. Hiberniæ v. tabula
14. Scotia
15. Scotiae tabula II = Scotiæ II tabula
16. Scotiæ tabula III = Scotiæ III tabula
17. Anglia
18. Northumbr. Cumberlādia Dunelm. Episcop. = Angliæ II tabula
19. Westmorland, Castria, Cestria etc = Angliæ III tabula
20. Cambria sive Wallia
21. Cornub. Devonia, Somerset etc. = Angliæ IIII tabula
22. Eboracum Lincolnia Derbia, Stafford, etc = Angliæ V tabula
23. Warwicum Northampton, Huntingdon Cantabr etc. = Angliæ VI tabula
24. Anglesey, Ins. = Angliæ VII tabula
25. Wight ol. Vectis = Angliæ VII tabula
26. Ins. Garnesey = Angliæ VII tabula
27. Ins. Iarsey = Angliæ VII tabula
28. Svecia, et Norwegia etc = Norwegia & Svecia
29. Daniæ Regnū.
30. Iutia Septentrionalis = Daniæ II tabula
31. Holsatia = Daniæ III tabula
32. Fionia = Daniæ IV tabula
33. Prussia = Borussia sive Prussia
34. Livonia = Livonia, sive Liefland
35. Russia cum confiniis = Russia sive Moscovia
36. Moscovia
37. Lithuania
38. Transsylvania
39. Taurica Chersonesus
40. Hispania
41. Portugallia olim Lusitania = Portugallia
42. Biscaia et Legio = Piscaia
43. Castilia vetus et nova = Castilia
44. Andaluzia
45. Regni Valentiæ typus = Valentia
46. Arragonia et Catalonia = Aragonia & Catalonia
47. Gallia
48. Britānia et Normãdia cum consiniis = Britannia & Normannia
49. Aquitania
50. Provincia
51. Picardia
52. L'Isle de Frãce Parisiensis Ager = Francia
53. Bolonia
54. Aniou = Andegavensis Ducatus
55. Berry = Bituricensis Ducatus
56. Poictou = Pictaviensis Comitatus
57. Lotharingia Meridiona = Lotaringia Septentr.
58. Lotharingia = Lotaringia Meridiona
59. Burgundiae duca. = Burgundiæ ducatus
60. Burgundia comitatus = Burgundiæ Comitatus
61. Lyonnois Forest et Beaujolois = Lugdunensis tractus
62. Helvetia
63. Zurichou = Zurichgovia
64. Das Wiflispurgergou = Wiflispurgergovia
65. Lacus Lemānus = Lacus Lemannus
66. Argou = Argovia
67. Inferior Germania = Germania Inferior
68. Flandria
69. Brabantia
70. Hollandia
71. Zeelandia = Zelandia
72. Geldria et Transylvana = Gelria
73. Artesia
74. Hãnonia = Hannonia
75. Trier et Lutzēborg. = Lutzenburgum
76. Germania
77. Frisia occidenta = Frisia Occidentalis
78. Emden et Oldenbor = Embden & Oldenborch
79. Wesphalia cum Diæcesi Bremensi = Westphalia
80. Westphaliæ tabula II. = Westphaliæ II tabula
81. Westphaliæ tabula tertia = Westphaliæ III tabula
82. Cleve et Murs = Clivia
83. Leodiensis Diœc. = Leodiensis Dioecesis
84. Waldek comit.
85. Palatinatus Rheni = Palatinat Rheni
86. Wirtenberg = Wirtemberg
87. Aslatia Inferior
88. Alsatia Superior
89. Saxonia Inferior et Mekleburg = Saxonia Inferior
90. Braũswik et Meydburg cum consiniis = Brunswyck
91. Hassia Landgraviatus = Hassia
92. Thuringia
93. Franckenland = Franconia
94. Bavaria
95. Palatinat. Bavariæ
96. Saxoniæ Superioris Lusatiæ, Misniæq. des. = Saxonia Superior
97. Brandeburg et Pomerania = Brandeburg
98. Rugia / Iodocus Hondius iunior fecit
99. Bohemia
100. Moravia
101. Austria archiduc. = Austria
102. Saltzburg Carinthia = Saltzburg
103. Polonia et Silesia = Polonia
104. Hungaria
105. Italia
106. Lombardiæ alpestris pars occidentalis cū Valesia = Lombardiæ
107. Tarvisina Marchia et Tirolis comitatus = Tirolensis
108. Pedemontana Regio, cum Genuensium territorio et Montifferrati Marchionatu = Pedemontium
109. Romandiola cum D. Parmensi = Romandiola
110. Brescia Episcopatus Mediolanũ ducatus = Brixiensis Comitatus
111. Veronæ Vicentiae et Pataviæ Dit. = Veronæ
112. Forum Iulium Karstia Carniola, Histria etc. = Forum IVLII
113. Tuscia
114. Marcha Anconitana cum Spoletano ducatu = Anconitana Marchia
115. Latium nunc Campagna di Roma = Latium
116. Abruzzo et Terra di Lovoro = Abruzzo
117. Puglia Piana, Terra di Barri Otrāto etc = Puglia Piana
118. Corsica
119. Sardinia
120. Sicilia
121. Stiria
122. Slavonia Croatia Bosnia, Dalmat. = Sclavonia
123. Walachia Servia, Bulgaria, Roman = Walachia
124. Græcia
125. Macedonia, Epir. et Achaia = Macedonia
126. Morea
127. Candia [5 ancillary s: I Corfu | Zante | Milo | Nicsia | Scarpanto]
128. Barbaria [2 ancillary s: Cartaginensis Sinus | Aegyptus]
129. Ægpytus = Ægytus
130. Marocchi Regnum = Marocci Regnum
131. Fessae Regnum = Fessæ Regnum
132. Abissinorum Regnũ = Abissiorum Regnum
133. Congi Regnũ = Congi Regnum
134. Guinea [inset : I. S. Thomæ]
135. Turcicum Imperium
136. Tabula Cananææ prout tempore Christi et Apostolorum divisa suit = Terra Sancta
137. Natolia = Asia Minor
138. Cyprus = Cyprus Insula [6 ancillary s: Stalimini | Chius | Mitilene | Negroponte | Cerigo | Rhodus]
139. Persicum Regnum
140. Tartaria
141. China = Regnum Chinæ
142. India orientalis
143. Insulæ Indiae orientalis = Moluccæ
144. Iapan I. = Iaponia
145. Ceilan insula = Zeilan Insula
146. Hispania Nova
147. Virgina et Florida = Virginia & Florida
148. Cuba Insula = Cuba [4 ancillary s: Havana Portus | I. Iamaica | I. S. Ioannis | I. Margareta.]
149. Hispaniola
150. America Meridionalis
151. Fretum Magellani = Fretum Magellanicum
152. Paradisus = Topographia Paradisi
153. Peregrinatio Israelitarũ in deserto = Peregrinatio Israelitarum in deserto
154. Designatio Orbis Christiani
155. Peregrinatio Pauli: In qua et omnia loca quorum sit mentio in actis et epistolis Apostolorium et Apocalypsi, describuntur = Peregrinatio Pauli
156. Romani Imperii Imago: Romani Imperii lunites fuere ad occidentem Occanus, à Septentrione Rhenus et Danubus, ab Oriét Tigris, à Mer. Atlas
157. Alexandri Magni expeditio [inset : Asia]
158. Aeneae Troiani navigatio = Æneæ Troiani navigatio
Jodocus Hondius the Elder (1563-1612), or Joost de Hondt, was one of the most prominent geographers and engravers of his time. His work did much to establish Amsterdam as the center of cartographic publishing in the seventeenth century. Born in Wakken but raised in Ghent, the young Jodocus worked as an engraver, instrument maker, and globe maker.
Hondius moved to London in 1584, fleeing religious persecution in Flanders. There, he worked for Richard Hakluyt and Edward Wright, among others. Hondius also engraved the globe gores for Emery Molyneux’s pair of globes in 1592; Wright plotted the coastlines. His engraving and nautical painting skills introduced him to an elite group of geographic knowledge seekers and producers, including the navigators Drake, Thomas Cavendish, and Walter Raleigh, as well as engravers like Theodor De Bry and Augustine Ryther. This network gave Hondius access to manuscript charts and descriptions which he then translated into engraved maps.
In 1593 Hondius returned to Amsterdam, where he lived for the rest of his life. Hondius worked in partnership with Cornelis Claesz, a publisher, and maintained his ties to contacts in Europe and England. For example, from 1605 to 1610, Hondius engraved the plates for John Speed’s Theatre of the Empire of Great Britaine.
One of Hondius’ most successful commercial ventures was the reprinting of Mercator’s atlas. When he acquired the Mercator plates, he added 36 maps, many engraved by him, and released the atlas under Mercator’s name, helping to solidify Mercator’s reputation posthumously. Hondius died in 1612, at only 48 years of age, after which time his son of the same name and another son, Henricus, took over the business, including the reissuing of the Mercator atlas. After 1633, Hondius the Elder’s son-in-law, Johannes Janssonius, was also listed as a co-publisher for the atlas.