Within Australia
All orders ship freewithin Australia
Rest of the World
Orders over A$300
ship free worldwide
C1606
Africa Ex magna orbis terre descriptione Gerardi Mercatoris desumpta Studio & insustrai G.M. Iunioris
Mapmaker:
Superb map of Africa by the most important and influential Dutch map maker of the c.18th. Based on Gerard Mercator’s world map of 1569, this map was drawn by Mercator’s grandson (also named Gerard) in 1595. The cartography and information … Read Full Description
Sold
Free Shipping
See Shipping page for Terms & Conditions
Details
Full Title:
Africa Ex magna orbis terre descriptione Gerardi Mercatoris desumpta Studio & insustrai G.M. Iunioris
Date:
C1606
Mapmaker:
Condition:
Very small tear to lower sheet edge, otherwise in good condition.
Technique:
Hand coloured copper engraving.
Image Size:
472mm
x 377mm
Paper Size:
498mm
x 405mm
AUTHENTICITY
Genuine antique
dated:
1606
Description:
Superb map of Africa by the most important and influential Dutch map maker of the c.18th. Based on Gerard Mercator’s world map of 1569, this map was drawn by Mercator’s grandson (also named Gerard) in 1595. The cartography and information especially of the interior is fanciful as many other maps of the period. The depiction of the Nile is based on Ptolemy’s geography with some complex modifications from various sources, including Abyssinian monks. The source of the Nile is shown as a series of lakes located in the Lune montes, just north of the Tropic of Capricorn. Another branch of the Nile flows from the west, with this system rambling through what is the Sahara Desert. Mercator adds a lake named Sac. Haf lac, sourced from Waldseemuller’s 1507 world map, this lake feeds both the Zambere River and the Nile. In Abissini, the legendary Christian King Prester John, sits on his throne.
From Gerard Mercator, Atlas sive cosmographicae meditationes de fabrica mundi et fabricati figura , Latin edition 1606
References:
Betz, 31
Gerard Mercator (1512 - 1594)
Mercator was one of the most important and influential of c.16th map makers. A geographer, cosmographer and is best known for creating the 1569 world map based on a new projection (named after him) which represented sailing courses of constant bearing (rhumb lines) as straight lines. His knowledge of geography came from his library of over one thousand books and maps, from travellers and from his vast correspondence (in six languages) with other scholars, statesmen, travellers, merchants and seamen. Mercator's early maps were in large formats suitable for wall mounting but in the second half of his life, he produced over 100 new regional maps in a smaller format suitable for binding into his Atlas of 1595. This was the first appearance of the word Atlas in reference to a book of maps.
