Volume IX (Sea-Atlas) of the "Novus Atlas Absolutissimus". German text, letterpress title on slip within hand-coloured engraved architectural border, heightened in gilt, 39 maps of which 38 are finely coloured by a contemporary hand. With 6 additional maps by Visscher listed in the index : ("Insulae Americanae", "Insula Matanino", "Novi Belgii", "Indiae orientalis", "Insularum Melitae" et "Insula Candia").
Including Northeast/ New York City. JANSSON J./ VISSCHER, C. J. Novi Belgii Novaeque Angliae... 18 ¼ x 21 ½ inches. A most attractive example of a map that is as historically important as it is beautiful. It was the culmination of all the surveys of the area conducted by the Dutch colonists of New Netherlands during their first three decades in America. It is also the first printed map to delineate the shape of Manhattan with relative accuracy; it had been shown as a triangle earlier. Also, English towns that were just being settled at the time, such as Milford, Guilford, Stratford, and Stamford, are shown along the Connecticut shoreline. Every Indian tribe encountered by the colonists, most of which are long extinct, as well as every town and settlement in existence at the time, are believed to be on this map. more info [+]

An (unrecorded) important sea atlas.

GOOS, P. Le Grand & Nouveau Miroir ou Flambeau de la Mer… (Amsterdam, 1676)
Folio. 3 parts in 1 volume. Contemp. brown calf, gilt spine (separating), ribbed, title on gilt red morocco label. Good copy of an (unrecorded) important sea atlas.

Unrecorded French text edition. Engraved title-page, 32 double-page charts, 1 engraved text-chart of St.MALO, numerous woodcuts of astronomical diagrams, compass, geometrical instruments and coastal lines, as well as 2 volvelles in text. With an Almanak from 1670-1680. Errors in paging: 57 instead of 61 and 217-224 instead of 117-124.
Pieter Goos's sea-atlas "reflects a high professional standard" (Koeman IV, p. 192). The De Nieuwe Groote Zee-Spiegel follows the prototype of pilot guides, opening with an introduction into navigation, followed charts of the coasts west and south from the Netherlands. A chapter with sailing directions is devoted to each section of coastline. It is accompanied by a chart, engraved on one side of a folded leaf, and woodcut coastal profiles are interspersed throughout the text.
Contents A2-K2 Instruction en l'art de Navigation. Table. 1-34 Le premier Livre. Le deuxiesme Livre. 77-114 Le troiziéme Livre. 115-224 Le quatriéme Livre.

The composition of the French edition is entirely different from the Dutch and English editions. It contains the Western Navigation with charts and descriptions of Great Britain, The Netherlands, Belgium, France, Portugal, Spain, Coast of Marocco with Canary Islands, and 3 charts on a sheet, and full- page chart of Canary Islands. The translation into French is by Paul Yvounet.
Very decorative engraved frontispiece with printed title. In lower part three large vessels in the foreground and two smaller ones in the distance.

First edition of one of the great achievements of the French Enlightenment

ROBERT DE VAUGONDY, Gilles & Didier [Paris, 1757] Atlas Universel Par M. Robert Geographe ordinaire du Roy, Par M. Robert De Vaugondy son fils Geographe ord. du Roy,. .. 1757. A Paris Chez Les Auteurs Quay de I'Horloge du Palais Boudet Libraire Imprimeur du Roll rue St. Jacques. Large folio (520x385mm.); full contemporary calf, attractively gilted and tooled, relatively modest wear; engraved allegorical frontispiece, 2pp.advertisement, 33pp. "preface historice" with description of different regions, 1p. index; 5pp of subscribers to large and small paper copies; 1p. pricelist. 108 maps with original outline color, stong impressions; paper fresh and bright; a very attractive copy.

First edition of one of the most important 18th century atlases and one of the great achievements of the French Enlightenment. The Atlas Universel is the prime exemplar of the authors' geographic ideal- bel et utile- beautiful and useful. According to Pledley "The corpus of their maps displays the finest of eighteenth-century French engraving on copperplate with fine linework and lettering and cleverly designed cartouches which often represent the areas portrayed on the map." The Atlas Universel was published in two paper sizes: grand papier (21 x 30 inches) for 120 livres and petit papier (19 x 26 inches) for 96 livres..

The Vaugondys employed strict standards for including maps in this atlas and in many cases subjected them to astronomically derived readings for latitude and longitude. Moreover, 'their frequent use of eighteenthcentury sources, often from the 1740s, provided their atlas with up-to-date information. While their preference was for maps that bad been surveyed in the field and maps published in the region itself, they did not hesitate to turn to older sources when more recent maps were found to be lacking." (Pedley, p. 61) For their maps of Canada and South America, the Vaugondys had access to sources held by the Depot de la Marine, the official French repository for maritime-related information. Like Ortelius and Mercator before them, the Vaugondys listed the sources of their maps, which is of incalculable benefit to anyone seeking to understand not only their maps but those of the period.

"A feature of the maps of the Atlas Universel which attracted unanimous praise from critics was the cartouches." (Pedley, p. 64) A number of artisans worked on their design and engraving; several cartouches were engraved and signed by the Haussard sisters. Among the most pictorial cartouches are the four found on maps showing the postal routes of Great Britain, France, Germany, Spain and Portugal. They depict postal carriers en route in richly detailed settings.

Gilles and Didier Robert De Vaugondy were father and son, respectively, and produced this atlas and others in concert. In many cases they did not use the initials of their first names when signing their maps, so it can be unclear at times who made a given map. On some maps fils or filto follows the name, designating its author as the son. In other instances, the authorship can be determined by the distinctive way each signed his maps: the father normally used "M. Robert," leaving off the last name, and the son, "Robert de Vaugondy.' (Pedley, p. 1 1).

Pedley, Mary S. Bel Et Utile, 7be Works of the Robert De Vaugondy Family of map makers, Phillips, Atlases 619; Catalogue of the National Maritime Museum, 266.

ZUDA ROKASHI (Priest Hotan) - Nansenbushu bankoku shoka no zu.[Outline Map of All Countries of the Universe]

Published in Kyoto, 1710 (Hoei 7 = Year of the Tiger) by Bundaiken Uhei (fl. 1680 - 1720).
This map is a great example for Japanese world maps representing Buddhist cosmology with real world cartography. It is the earliest one and - therefore - the prototype for Buddhist world maps. The map centred on 'Jambu-Dvipa', the mythological heart of Buddhist cosmography where Buddha was born in Northern India with the sacred lake of Anavatapta, and the four sacred rivers Ganges, Oxus, Indus, and Tarim flowing from it, the map extending from Ceylon to Siberia, and from Japan to the British Isles 'Country of the Western Woman', with Europe as a group of islands, Africa figured as a small island, and a land bridge connecting China with an unnamed continent to the East [?America]. Read more

Cellarius' Southern Sky, gold highlighted !

CELLARIUS, A. Haemisphaerium Scenographicum Australe Colli Stellatiet Terrae.. (Amsterdam, 1661)
16.7 x 19.4 inches - 42.5 x 49.4 cm. Copper engraving on paper, with original colours, stars heightened with gold dots

Southern sky, illustrating the constellations, with decorative scenes surrounding the chart. The South Pole, South Africa & South America are also shown, with the South Pole listed as Terra Incognitae. Cellarius full hemisphere maps are becoming increasing difficult to find, especially in such exceptional condition, original colours and heightened with gold. From "Atlas Coelestis" first edition, first issue without plate numbering, by Andreas Cellarius (fl. 1656 - 1702) and published by Jan Janssonius.
Many of the plates were engraved by Johannes van Loon. This was the only atlas of the period dealing with astronomy and the mapping of the havens reached its aesthetic peak. The charts depict the charts of constellations, scientific instruments, portraits of the great astronomers and observatories.
The chart has the typical magnificent original colouring, heightened with gold. This is associated with the first edition from 1660/1661. Later in 1706 Petrus Schenk re-issued the atlas with his imprint.

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