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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.

Place/Date:
Amsterdam / 1578 circa
Size:
19 x 14 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
73478
Place/Date:
Leiden / 1690 circa
Size:
18.5 x 13.5 inches
Condition:
Good
Stock#:
72635
Place/Date:
Duisburg / 1595
Size:
19 x 13.5 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
89184
Place/Date:
Cologne / 1584
Size:
13 x 14 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
89181
Place/Date:
Amsterdam / 1595 (1619)
Size:
18.5 x 13.5 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
56233
Place/Date:
Duisberg / 1595
Size:
19 x 14 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
98424
Place/Date:
Duisberg, Germany / 1589 (1619)
Size:
18.5 x 14.5 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
98484
Place/Date:
Amsterdam / 1619 circa
Size:
16 x 14 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
93125
Place/Date:
Cologne / 1584 circa
Size:
18.25 x 13 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
89164
Place/Date:
Cologne / 1584
Size:
18 x 13.5 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
77984
Place/Date:
Duisberg / 1610 circa
Size:
18.5 x 13.5 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
85525
Place/Date:
Cologne / 1584
Size:
18.5 x 13.5 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
96376
Place/Date:
Amsterdam / 1578 (1695)
Size:
18 x 13.5 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
58820
Place/Date:
Amsterdam / 1610
Size:
18 x 13.5 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
67355
Place/Date:
Cologne / 1584 circa
Size:
13.5 x 14.5 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
89180
Place/Date:
Cologne / 1584
Size:
17 x 13.5 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
89171
Place/Date:
Amsterdam / 1630 circa
Size:
10.25 x 7.5 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
93710
Place/Date:
Amsterdam / 1620 circa
Size:
18.5 x 14.5 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
69198
Place/Date:
Amsterdam / 1619 circa
Size:
16.5 x 14.5 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
48695
Place/Date:
Amsterdam / 1619 circa
Size:
19 x 14 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
50679
Place/Date:
Amsterdam / 1619 circa
Size:
18.5 x 14 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
56307
Place/Date:
Amsterdam / 1610 circa
Size:
18.5 x 14.5 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
98025
Place/Date:
Amsterdam / 1619 circa
Size:
18 x 13.5 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
47147
Place/Date:
Amsterdam / 1698 circa
Size:
18 x 12.5 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
58584
Place/Date:
Amsterdam / 1584 circa
Size:
18.5 x 12 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
79434
Place/Date:
Cologne / 1584 circa
Size:
16 x 13.5 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
89170
Place/Date:
Amsterdam / 1610 circa
Size:
10.5 x 8 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
95290
Place/Date:
Cologne / 1584 circa
Size:
18.25 x 13.5 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
78289
Place/Date:
Cologne / 1584 circa
Size:
14.5 x 9.5 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
89158
Place/Date:
Amsterdam / 1627
Size:
17.5 x 14.5 inches inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
51478
Place/Date:
Cologne / 1584
Size:
18 x 14 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
89178
Place/Date:
Amsterdam / 1578 circa (1695 ca)
Size:
14 x 13 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
89187
Place/Date:
Amsterdam / 1619 circa
Size:
18 x 13.5 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
41806
Place/Date:
Amsterdam / 1619 circa
Size:
21 x 14 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
50849
Place/Date:
Amsterdam / 1619 circa
Size:
19 x 14 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
50883
Place/Date:
Cologne / 1584 circa
Size:
18 x 13.5 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
72939
Place/Date:
Amsterdam / 1630 circa
Size:
10 x 7 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
98422
Place/Date:
Amsterdam / 1610 circa
Size:
18.75 x 14.5 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
89659
Place/Date:
Amsterdam / 1619
Size:
17.5 x 14.5 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
57948
Place/Date:
Amsterdam / 1695 circa
Size:
18 x 13.5 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
58899
Place/Date:
Cologne / 1584
Size:
18 x 13 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
78166
Place/Date:
Amsterdam / 1610 circa
Size:
18.25 x 13.75 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
75618

Archived

Place/Date:
Amsterdam & Frankfurt / 1605
Size:
10.5 x 15.5 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
90943
Place/Date:
Amsterdam / 1730 circa
Size:
11.75 x 19 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
64684
Place/Date:
Geneva / 1587
Size:
21 x 14 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
48075
Place/Date:
Amsterdam / 1730
Size:
12 x 19 inches Book Size
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
69142
Place/Date:
Amsterdam / 1578 circa
Size:
19 x 14 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
54911
Place/Date:
Duisburg / 1578
Size:
19 x 14 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
35059
Place/Date:
Duisburg / 1578
Size:
19 x 14 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
41415
Place/Date:
Amsterdam / 1578 circa
Size:
19 x 14 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
55576
Place/Date:
Leiden / 1578 (1695)
Size:
18.5 x 13.5 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
25269
Place/Date:
Duisburg / 1578
Size:
19 x 14 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
33795
Place/Date:
Amsterdam / 1578 circa
Size:
19 x 14 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
70092
Place/Date:
Leiden / 1578 (1695)
Size:
18.5 x 13.5 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
25433
Place/Date:
Leiden / 1578 (1695)
Size:
18.5 x 13.5 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
26934
Place/Date:
Duisburg / 1578
Size:
19 x 14 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
33712
Place/Date:
Amsterdam / 1578 circa
Size:
19 x 14 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
69954
Place/Date:
Leiden / 1578 (1695)
Size:
18.5 x 13.5 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
29790
Place/Date:
Leiden / 1578 (1695)
Size:
18.5 x 13.5 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
54646
Place/Date:
Leiden / 1578 (1695)
Size:
18.5 x 13.5 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
29324
Place/Date:
Leiden / 1578 (1695)
Size:
18.5 x 13.5 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
40216
Place/Date:
Leiden / 1578 (1695)
Size:
18.5 x 13.5 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
58465
Place/Date:
Leiden / 1578 (1695)
Size:
18.5 x 13.5 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
58271
Place/Date:
Leiden / 1695 circa
Size:
18.5 x 13.5 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
63604
Place/Date:
Leiden / 1578 (1695)
Size:
18.5 x 13.5 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
37414
Place/Date:
Duisburg / 1595
Size:
19 x 14 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
18687
Place/Date:
Duisburg / 1595
Size:
19 x 14 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
26119
Place/Date:
Duisburg / 1595 circa
Size:
19 x 14 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
46834
Place/Date:
Duisburg / 1595
Size:
19 x 13.5 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
72649
Place/Date:
Amsterdam / 1595 circa
Size:
18.5 x 14.5 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
72504
Place/Date:
Amsterdam / 1610 circa
Size:
18.5 x 14.5 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
57016
Place/Date:
London / 1619
Size:
19 x 15 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
37201
Place/Date:
Amsterdam / 1595 circa
Size:
18.5 x 14.5 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
81857
Place/Date:
Amsterdam / 1610 circa
Size:
18.5 x 14.5 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
57557
Place/Date:
Duisburg / 1595
Size:
18 x 14 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
18692
Place/Date:
Amsterdam / 1695
Size:
19 x 14 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
23124
Place/Date:
Amsterdam / 1630 circa
Size:
19 x 13.5 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
21736
Place/Date:
Amsterdam / 1595
Size:
18.5 x 13.5 inches
Condition:
Stock#:
24161
Place/Date:
Duisberg / 1595
Size:
16 x 13 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
24177
Place/Date:
Duisberg / 1595
Size:
18.5 x 14.5 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
24388
Place/Date:
Duisberg / 1595
Size:
19 x 14 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
25851
Place/Date:
Duisburg / 1595 circa
Size:
19 x 14 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
29419
Place/Date:
Duisberg / 1589
Size:
18.5 x 14.5 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
36102
Place/Date:
Cologne / 1584
Size:
13 x 13.5 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
73513
Place/Date:
Duisberg / 1589 (1619)
Size:
18.5 x 14.5 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
36988