1745 OTTENS, R. / J. - Atlas van Zeevaert en Koophandel door de Geheele Weereldt.

Engraved frontispiece, title printed in red and black with engraved vignette, engraved dedication to the Dutch East India Company, 32 double-page engraved charts in very dark impressions. (4), 152 pp.

A very fine example of the corrected issue of Renard’s "Atlas de la navigation et du commerce" (Amsterdam, 1715), which had been printed from plates used for Frederik de Wit’s maritime atlas of c.1675. The firm of R. and J. Ottens produced a French edition in 1739, slightly different from the 1715 edition, and then a 1745 edition in Dutch with careful corrections to the plates.
Seven new charts appear, including a world map by Edmund Halley (4), maps of the postal routes of Europe (10) and of Greenland (32). Renard's name no longer appears on the plates, and the text is rewritten.

One of the atlas's most important maps is this folding map based on Edmund Haley’s study of magnetic fields. This is the first map to include isogonic lines and the first edition of Haley’s map to include wind directions. The map was published in Amsterdam circa 1730 and is in three separate sheets that have been joined.

This is one of the most important world maps of the 18th century, especially for the study of Earth sciences. As the first world map to include isogonic, or Halleyan, lines, it depicts areas of equal magnetic variation across the oceans. Charting magnetic variations from “true north” was considered an important feature on a map, especially for determining more accurate longitude. The map also includes several notations on trade wind directions and monsoons during specific months.
This feature would help mariners determine the best times of year to sail through certain areas of the world. The symbols he used to represent trailing winds still appear in most modern weather chart representations.
The world map is presented in a long-strip Mercator projection, which Halley called a nautical projection. Eastern Asia and Australia are repeated to better show the flow of the isogonic lines. These lines radiate over the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, but not the Pacific. A note in the Pacific explains his innovation and why the lines stop as they approach the world’s largest ocean:

The Curve lines which are drawn over the Seas in this Chart, show the Variation of the Compass in all the known Seas; the double lines divide the tracts of East and West Variation & under them, the Compass stands true without Varying. In any other place, the degrees of Variation is [sic.] seen by the number on the Line that passes over that place. I durst not presume to describe the like Curves in the South Seas wanting account thereof. (quoted from the English edition of Halley’s chart, published by Emanuel Bowen, 1722).

Edmund Halley (1656 – 1742) was the second Royal Astronomer and is highly regarded as one of the greatest European astronomers of his era, along with Sir Isaac Newton. Though Halley made many scientific discoveries and accomplishments, he is best known for the comet that bears his name, which he correctly predicted would return to Earth every 75 to 76 years. With relation to this map, Halley received a temporary commission as a Captain of the Royal Navy in August of 1699 to make extensive observations on the conditions of terrestrial magnetism. He accomplished this task on a second Atlantic voyage that lasted until 6 September 1700 and extended from 52 degrees north to 52 degrees south. The results were published in the General Chart of the Variation of the Compass (1701). This was the first such chart to be published and the first on which, isogonic or Halleyan, lines appeared.

Norman J. W. Thrower, The Three Voyages of Edmond Halley in the Paramore 1698-1701 (London: Hakluyt Society, 1981), 55-66, appendix E. KAP.

Another folding map is the portolan-style chart, "Totius Europae Littora Novissime adita. Pascaert vertoonende alle de See-custen van Europa". The chart offers an exquisite and wide-ranging depiction of Europe's maritime landscape. Stretching from Morocco to the Scandinavian island of Spitsbergen and Iceland, and from Iceland to Dalmatia, this chart captures a remarkable breadth of geography.

The Ottens brothers, Reiner and Joshua, operated a successful printing partnership in the mid-eighteenth century (fl. 1726-1765). They began the venture in 1726, publishing maps and other prints as “R & I Ottens.” They specialized in the reprinting of others’ work, especially Guillaume De L’Isle. In 1750, Reiner died; his son, also Reiner, took his place, but the firm began listing their works as “Joshua & Reiner Ottens.” The firm lasted until Joshua died in 1765. Joshua’s widow, Johanna de Lindt, sold their remaining plate stock in 1784.

A splendid copy.

Reference: Shirley BL II, M. Ren-1c; Koeman IV, Ren 3; Phillips, Atlases 601.

Reinier & Josua Ottens