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Description

Rare View of Toledo

Finely colored example of this rare late view of Toledo, published by Janssonius in 1657.

The view is a modified version of the view which first appeared in Braun & Hogenberg's Civitatus Orbis Terrarum, but has been significantly modified, with a new decorative cartouche and coats of arms and removal of the decorative elements ringing the top of the city.

Rarity

This is the first example of the view we have seen on the market.

Condition Description
Original hand-color. Wide margins. Open corner tears at lower left, lower right, and upper right. Minor separation along centerfold in top margin and two closed tears in bottom margin on either side of centerfold (all repaired with tape on verso).
Jan Jansson Biography

Jan Janssonius (also known as Johann or Jan Jansson or Janszoon) (1588-1664) was a renowned geographer and publisher of the seventeenth century, when the Dutch dominated map publishing in Europe. Born in Arnhem, Jan was first exposed to the trade via his father, who was also a bookseller and publisher. In 1612, Jan married the daughter of Jodocus Hondius, who was also a prominent mapmaker and seller. Jonssonius’ first maps date from 1616.

In the 1630s, Janssonius worked with his brother-in-law, Henricus Hondius. Their most successful venture was to reissue the Mercator-Hondius atlas. Jodocus Hondius had acquired the plates to the Mercator atlas, first published in 1595, and added 36 additional maps. After Hondius died in 1612, Henricus took over publication; Janssonius joined the venture in 1633. Eventually, the atlas was renamed the Atlas Novus and then the Atlas Major, by which time it had expanded to eleven volumes. Janssonius is also well known for his volume of English county maps, published in 1646.

Janssonius died in Amsterdam in 1664. His son-in-law, Johannes van Waesbergen, took over his business. Eventually, many of Janssonius’ plates were sold to Gerard Valck and Pieter Schenk, who added their names and continued to reissue the maps.