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Fine old color example of this rare early edition of Blaeu's map of France, which appeared in the earliest editions of his Atlas Appendix.
The map is the work of the master engraver Josua van den Ende. The map is enhanced by the inclusion of a large title cartouche in the lower left corner, sailing ships, a compass rose and the English royal coat-of-arms above it, plus the German royal coat-of-arms and a small explanation table to the right margin.
In later editions, the second Latin title would be changed to a French title.
Willem Janszoon Blaeu (1571-1638) was a prominent Dutch geographer and publisher. Born the son of a herring merchant, Blaeu chose not fish but mathematics and astronomy for his focus. He studied with the famous Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe, with whom he honed his instrument and globe making skills. Blaeu set up shop in Amsterdam, where he sold instruments and globes, published maps, and edited the works of intellectuals like Descartes and Hugo Grotius. In 1635, he released his atlas, Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, sive, Atlas novus.
Willem died in 1638. He had two sons, Cornelis (1610-1648) and Joan (1596-1673). Joan trained as a lawyer, but joined his father’s business rather than practice. After his father’s death, the brothers took over their father’s shop and Joan took on his work as hydrographer to the Dutch East India Company. Later in life, Joan would modify and greatly expand his father’s Atlas novus, eventually releasing his masterpiece, the Atlas maior, between 1662 and 1672.
![[France]](https://storage.googleapis.com/raremaps/img/small/77774.jpg)
![Regionis Biturigum Exactiss: Descriptio Per D. Ioannem Calamaeum [with] Limaniae Topographia Gabriele Symeoneo Auct.](https://storage.googleapis.com/raremaps/img/small/61579.jpg)
