"This is the first edition of Ptolemy's Geographia with the Greek text next [to] the Latin text... The Ptolemy edition of 1605 is the first work printed in Greek in Amsterdam, and is a typographic masterpiece." - Koeman Me3
This is the third edition of Gerard Mercator's rendition of Ptolemy's Geographia, following the editions of 1578 and 1584. This is the first posthumous edition, after the mantle of publication had been taken up by the Amsterdam map-publishing powerhouses of Jodocus Hondius and Cornelis Claesz. As mentioned in Koeman (Me3), this edition is the first to publish Latin translations of the text side-by-side with the original Greek (a translation of Ptolemy into Latin had first been accomplished by Jacopo Angeli in 1410). This is also the first work printed in Greek in Amsterdam, a very significant typographic accomplishment in its own right.
The book includes 28 intricately engraved maps, starting with a map of the ancient world, and proceeding regionally through the old world. The maps are unaltered in this edition, but would subsequently be substantially reworked.
Koeman, Me3:
Title-page resembles that of 1584, but has been entirely re-engraved. This is the first edition of Ptolemy's Geographia with the Greek text next [to] the Latin text... There are three variants of the imprint, all dated 1605:
a) Sumptibus Cornelij Nicolai et Iudoci Hondij, Amsterodmmi.
b) Sumptibus Cornelij Nicolai et Iudoci Hondij, Amsterodmmi, Francofurti.
c) Jodocus Hondius excudit sibi et Cornelio Nicolai, in cujus officina prostant, Franofurti.
The name of the printer is not given. According to Wijnman, Het Boek, 28, p. 1-48 it was Jan Theunisz, who moved from Leiden to Amsterdam in 1604. The Ptolemy edition of 1605 is the first work printed in Greek in Amsterdam and a typographic masterpiece. Literature: A. de Smet: Gerard Mercator en zijn Westvlaamse voortzetter Jodocus Hondius ... Album Archivaris Jos. de Smet. Brugge, 1964.
It should be noted that in Van der Krogt ("New Koeman") the order of the variants is reversed, so Koeman Variant C becomes Van der Krogt Variant A.
Koeman gives the following collation:
A⁶ - S⁶ Claudii Ptolemaei / Alexandrini, Geographicae / Enarrationis, Text, 215 pp. (pages numbered 1-215)
T⁶ - X⁴ Index Eorum Quae Inocto / Libris Ptolemaei Continentur 31 pp. On verso of last page diagram.
a⁶ - c³ In dicem Hunc in / tres classes distinxi, iuxta Text, 30 pp.
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.
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.