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New, completely revised edition of Koeman's Atlantes Neerlandici in ten volumes,
edited by Peter van der Krogt

Virtually new edition of Professor Koeman's bibliography of terrestrial, maritime and celestial atlases and pilot books, published in the Netherlands up to 1880, the Atlantes Neerlandici, edited by Peter van der Krogt 

• New bibliographical descriptions of the atlases, based upon an inquiry to about 1500 libraries all over the world, according to the latest standards.
• Illustrations and full descriptions of all the maps
• Illustrations of all the frontispieces
• Each volume has its own indexes.  

Volumes I , II and III are already available. Please go to the special ORDERFORM and the volumes will be mailed out immediately.

1. Folio atlases by Mercator, Hondius and Janssonius. Published  EURO 425.00  Please have a look at some sample pages.
2. Folio atlases by Blaeu. Published. EURO   EURO 425.00
3. Various atlases from the 16th and 17th century (a.o. Ortelius, De Jode, Van den Keere, the Epitome, the Caert-Thresoor, the Atlas Minor etc. Published.   EURO 1,250.00
4. Town Books by Braun & Hogenberg, Blaeu, Janssonius a.o.
5. Composed Atlases (Visscher, De Wit, Valk & Schenk a.o.).
6. Atlases of the 18th century.
7. Pilot guides up to c. 1650 (Waghenaer, Blaeu a.o.)
8. Pilot guides and sea-atlases after c. 1650 (Goos, Doncker a.o.)
9. Van Keulen's sea-atlases and pilot guides
10. Atlases of the 19th and 20th century.

Volume 1 , 2 and 3 now available (Please have a look at some sample pages.), other 7 volumes planned for the next 5 years.

Please go to the special ORDERFORM and Volumes I, II and III will be mailed out immediately.

The Atlantes Neerlandici by Professor C. Koeman, the bibliography of atlases published in the Netherlands up to 1880, appeared between 1967 and 1970 The idea of preparing a bibliography of atlases published in the Netherlands before 1880 occurred to professor Koeman while he was undertaking research for his thesis: Collections of Maps and Atlases in the Netherlands (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1961). Chapter VI of this thesis, unpretentiously titled 'Outline of a bibliography of atlases published before 1800', was based on an inquiry into the atlas resources of libraries in the Netherlands. In 1962, when a project to reconstruct the history of the vast cartographic reproduction done in the Netherlands' was initiated, this inquiry was extended, by personal visit, to libraries outside the Netherlands. The project aimed at a far more detailed description of the works than was accomplished by the 'outline' chapter of the thesis. The project was guided by the conviction that the world-dominating position once held by cartographers and publishers of the Low Countries, obligated researchers in the Netherlands today to reconstruct the history of this immense output of maps, the original records of which are lost. Such a reconstruction would enable librarians, scholars, antiquarian booksellers and collectors to assess their Dutch cartographic holdings more scientifically than has hitherto been possible.

Professor Koeman's Atlantes Neerlandici has now been out of print for several years, and when it was decided to publish a new edition of the bibliography it became clear that a simple photographic reproduction of the original work would not meet present requirements. Koeman's work reflects the dialectics of progress: as the first of its kind, it exhibits the problems typical of a pioneer. A completely new edition is thus timely.

In general Koeman's method was followed: bibliographical descriptions of the atlases and cartobibliographical descriptions of the maps, both according to their own standards. The map descriptions follow the ISBD(CM)-format. For the description of the atlas as a book mainly the Principles of bibliographical description by Fredson Bowers was used. The preparation of the new edition of Koeman's Atlantes Neerlandici started in 1993 and 1994 with the dispatch of a questionnaire to some 1,500 libraries world-wide, asking for their holdings of Dutch terrestrial atlases published before 1800 (sea atlases and atlases of the 19th and 20th century need a special approach). To facilitate answering for those libraries with alphabetical catalogues, a list of eleven of the most important publishers/authors was added, to wit Willem Jansz. and Joan Blaeu, Jodocus and Henricus Hondius, Joannes Janssonius, Gerard and Cornelis de Jode, Gerard Mercator, Abraham Ortelius, the Ottens family, Petrus Schenk, Isaac Tirion and Frederik de Wit.

Over 10,000 copies of Dutch atlases turned out to be present in about 750 libraries. From 1994 onwards the editor is describing the atlases in the different libraries.

What is an atlas

The definition of an atlas as 'a particular collection of maps, usually bound together' (Wallis & Robinson 1987, p. 311) is much too simple to be useful for a bibliography of atlases. For this purpose only those atlases can be considered which are products of a publisher, omitting all manuscript atlases and all atlases composed by private persons (the so-called atlas factices). Since it is accepted that an atlas next to maps can include texts, it would be ideal for bibliographical purposes to have a discrimination definition when a book is to be considered as an atlas and when it is a book illustrated with maps. This definition must confirm the general acceptance that Janssonius Atlas Majoris Quinta Pars, the sea atlas belonging to the Atlas Novus is an atlas, although it has 326 pages of text and 32 double page maps (that is a rate of one map page for every five pages of text); and that Willem Jansz. [Blaeu]'s edition of Lodovico Guicciardini, Beschryvinghe van alle de Nederlanden (Amsterdam 1612), is not an atlas, although it has a rate of one map page for every 2,3 text pages (396 text pages, 97 maps, plans and views on 175 pages).

Koeman wrote about this problem in the introduction to his outline bibliography of atlases (Koeman 1963, p. 119) and later, in 1967 in his introduction to the Atlantes Neerlandici: 'A work is not entitled to the name 'atlas' by the mere fact that it contains maps. Geographical works, journals, topographical descriptions, chronicles, works with topographical drawings, and the like have been categorically omitted. Quite frequently the limits of our categories are ill-defined. In the case of sea atlases and pilot guides (which themselves belong to two different categories,) the borderline between these and the group of textbooks on navigation is equally uncertain. Since the great tradition of atlas-making, originating from Abraham Ortelius' Theatrum orbis terrarum, permits text into a book of maps, I have allowed a rather large quantity of text in a book with maps before disqualifying it as an 'atlas', but itineraries, such works as Guicciardini's 'Description of the Netherlands', topographical descriptions (Boxhornius' Theatrum) and the like are excluded.' But, Koeman did not give a proper definition. That is not unique: the 'prefatory note' of the first large bibliography of atlases A List of Geographical Atlases in the Library of Congress (1909) by Philip Lee Phillips, does not give a definition of an atlas. And Koeman's first follower, the Atlas français by Mireille Pastoureau, does not give a definition either (Pastoureau 1988)

After publication of Atlantes Neerlandici maphistorians and cartobibliographers felt the need to define an atlas more properly. One of the first who discussed the definition of an atlas is David Woodward (1982), however he did not give a definition himself.

One of the first who tried to determine the discrimating factor between the different types of atlases is Peter Meurer in his Atlantes Colonienses (Meurer 1988) and later in his work on Ortelius maps (Meurer 1991). Meurer distinguished first the atlas in two main types: the collector's atlas or composed atlas and the publisher's atlas. The latter he defined as a 'collection of printed maps in book form or bound similar to a book, in which number and order of the maps are established before delivery to the first owner and are identical in all copies of an edition' (Meurer 1991, p. 6). Then, Meurer tries to specify the latter definition to include a criterion for the amount of text, which will give a distinction between 'atlas' and 'book illustrated with maps'. Meurer decides that such a distinction is not to define. A definition on the basis of the numeric relation between pages with maps and pages text is out of the question (Meurer 1988, p. ..; idem 1991, p. 6). Our example above makes this clear. Better is to define an atlas as a work in which maps are the main medium of information, where the accompanying texts repeat or complete the same information in words. The text however, he admits, can include non-mappable information, such as historical and statistical data.

Akerman (1995) distinguishes atlases from other sets of maps, in or out of books, by its usual possession of three defining traits: (1) the dominance of graphic elements (particularly maps) over textual elements; (2) the rough uniformity of map format, design, and presentation throughout the work; and (3) the standardization (generally), from copy to copy in each edition, of composition and arrangement of atlas component.

Akerman continues with the remark that this definition is best seen as an ideal rather as a hard and fast rule. For bibliographical purposes the 'dominance-trait', however, is unusable, because it will be translated in a numeric relation between text and graphics. This was already by Meurer considered as out of the question.

A more practical definition agrees with Meurer's suggestion to decide if maps are the main medium of information or not. For this decision we have to go to the publisher's intention as expressed in the title of the work. The word 'atlas' got in the early decades of the 17th century the meaning of a bound collection of maps, with or without accompanying texts (Van der Krogt 1994). A publisher who includes the word 'atlas' in the title of his publication expresses his intention to give maps with texts. In the case of the Guicciardini-publication by Blaeu, mentioned above, the title (in translation) is: 'Description of all the Netherlands otherwise names Lower Germany, by Lodovico Guicciardini, nobleman from Florence, corrected and enlarged with more than half by the same author, with all maps of the said countries, and much view of towns after nature'. This title made it clear that the text is in the first place and the maps are added to illustrate the text.

In this respect Meurer's objection that the text may include non-mappable information is not relevant.

An atlas is defined as a book with maps, which meets the following characteristics (free after Meurer and Akerman):

1. a collection of printed maps in book form or bound similar to a book; in case text is included, the publisher's intention to give the dominance of graphic elements (particularly maps, plans or town views) over textual elements, must be clear, either from the title or from the concept of the work;
2. the rough uniformity of map format, design, and presentation throughout the work; and
3. the standardization (generally), from copy to copy in each edition, of composition and arrangement of atlas component. Despite these valuable and scientific correct definitions, for the compilation of this bibliography of atlases there was a very practical reason to include works as atlases. It is a new edition of the work professor Koeman published in 1967-1985 and therefore it should include all works described in this first edition.

What are The Netherlands?

Another difficulty arises from the interpretation of the term 'Atlases published in the Netherlands'. Belgium, which comprised the Southern Netherlands in the 16th and 17th centuries, the Spanish and Austrian Netherlands in the 17th and 18th centuries, and part of the kingdom of the Netherlands between 1815-1830, is included. But what of foreign work closely related to atlases published at Amsterdam, such as The Mariner's Mirrour by Lucas Jansz. Waghenaer, which was published in London in 1588? What of Mercator's Atlas, published at Duisburg between 1585 and 1595? Because this bibliography lays strong emphasis upon the history of an atlas, I have included all foreign publications made with copperplates used in an earlier or in a later time for works published in the Netherlands. For example, the copperplates of Mercator's Atlas or the Civitates orbis terrarum, by Braun and Hogenberg, printed in Duisburg and Cologne resp., were later used for atlases published in Amsterdam. On the other hand, the English Atlas published at Oxford is made with the copperplates of the Janssonius-firm in Amsterdam. However, atlases made outside the Netherlands with re-engraved copperplates were not included. In cases were confusion may arise, references are made.

References

• Akerman (1991): On the shoulders of a Titan: viewing the world of the past in atlas structure / James Richard Akerman. -Thesis, submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of doctor in philosophy, Pennsylvania State University 1991.
• Akerman (1995): From books with maps to books as maps: the editor in the creation of the atlas idea / James R. Akerman. - In: Editing early and historical atlases / edited by Joan Winearls. - Toronto [etc.]: University of Toronto Press, 1995. p. 3-48.
• Van der Krogt (1994): Van Atlas tot atlas. - In: Kartografisch Tijdschrift 20(1994)3, pp. 11-18. (summarized version without annotations: From Atlas to atlas. - In Mercator's World 1(1996)1, pp. 61-63 & 93.
• Meurer (1988): Atlantes Colonienses : die Kölner Schule der Atlaskartographie 1570-1610 / Peter H. Meurer. - Bad Neustadt a.d. Saale : Verlag Dietrich Pfaehler, 1988.
• Meurer (1991): Fontes Cartographici Orteliani: das Theatrum Orbis Terrarum von Abraham Ortelius und seine Kartenquellen / Peter H. Meurer. - Weinheim : VCH Acta humaniora, 1991.
• Pastoureau (1984): Les atlas français XVIe-XVIIe siècles : répertoire bibliographique et étude / Mireille Pastoureau [et al.]. - Paris : Bibliothèque Nationale, 1984.
• Varanka (1994): Editorial and design principles in the rise of English world atlases 1606-1729 / Dalia Varanka. - A Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor in Philosophy in Geography at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, June 1994.
• Wallis & Robinson (1987): Cartographical innovations: an international handbook of mapping terms to 1900 / edited by Helen M. Wallis and Arthur H. Robinson. - Tring : Map Collector Publications (1982) Ltd., 1987.
• Woodward (1982): The technique of atlas making / David Woodward. - In: The Map Collector 18(March 1982), p. 2-11.

Text by Peter van der Kroght

Volumes I , II and III are already available. Please go to the special ORDERFORM and the volumes will be mailed out immediately.

1. Folio atlases by Mercator, Hondius and Janssonius. Published  EURO 425.00  Please have a look at some sample pages.
2. Folio atlases by Blaeu. Published. EURO   EURO 425.00
3. Various atlases from the 16th and 17th century (a.o. Ortelius, De Jode, Van den Keere, the Epitome, the Caert-Thresoor, the Atlas Minor etc. Published.   EURO 1,250.00
4. Town Books by Braun & Hogenberg, Blaeu, Janssonius a.o.
5. Composed Atlases (Visscher, De Wit, Valk & Schenk a.o.).
6. Atlases of the 18th century.
7. Pilot guides up to c. 1650 (Waghenaer, Blaeu a.o.)
8. Pilot guides and sea-atlases after c. 1650 (Goos, Doncker a.o.)
9. Van Keulen's sea-atlases and pilot guides
10. Atlases of the 19th and 20th century.

Volume 1 , 2 and 3 now available (Please have a look at some sample pages.), other 7 volumes planned for the next 5 years.

For additional information please contact us at paulus@swaen.com

Please go to the special ORDERFORM and Volumes I, II and III will be mailed out immediately.

Please contact us at paulus@swaen.com