HERRERA y TORDESILLAS, A. de. - Descripcion de las indias del poniente 14

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Title : Descripcion de las indias del poniente 14.
Map maker : HERRERA y TORDESILLAS, A. de..
Date : Amsterdam, 1622.
Size : 8.5 x 11.6 inches. / 21.5 x 29.4 cm.
Colouring : Coloured

Description :A rare map of Southeast Asia, seldom seen in the auction or dealer markets. From Herrera's notable 1622 Amsterdam edition of NOVUS ORBIS, SIVE DESCRIPTIO INDIAE OCCIDENTALIS.
The work is based on the manuscript charts of Juan Lopez de Velasco dating from approximately 1575 - 1580. Like it's prototype, this example fixes the line of demarcation - established under the Treaty of Tordesillas signed in 1494 between Spain and Portugal - to Spanish advantage.
Three legends are provided in the upper right portion of the plate.

As is typical of Spanish maps published in the 16th / 17th centuries, little detail is provided with respect to topography, places and town names. The work depicts China, Japan, The Philippines, the northern coast of New Guinea and the Salomon Islands.

Herrera served as the official historian of the King of Spain, and he produced a substantial history of the West Indies, Central and South America. Originally published in 1601 in Madrid, it was reissued later in several editions and languages. Of greatest importance was the 1622 Amsterdam reissuance.
This contained a map of the western seaboard of North America with California presented as an island, most likely the first map to show the area as such.
Moreland and Bannister, page 227, Newitt, 2005, page 57
Condition : In excellent condition. Crisp and dark impression. Strong paper. Ample margins. Beautifully coloured.


ID: 90181