[Maps]. Rumoldus Mercator. Orbis Terrae Compendiosa Descriptio. [Duisburg: Albert Buys for the author's heirs], 1587 [actual...
Description
An Excellent Example of Mercator's World Hemispherical Projection Map
[Maps]. Rumoldus Mercator. Orbis Terrae Compendiosa
Descriptio. [Duisburg: Albert Buys for the author's heirs],
1587 [actually 1595]. First atlas edition of this important map,
excised from Gerardus Mercator's landmark atlas, Atlas
sive cosmographicae meditationes de fabrica mundi et fabricati
figura, published in 1595. With contemporary
hand-coloring. The version of the text on this map was changed
(mainly cosmetic changes) from the original publication of the 1587
separately-published version. Later editions of this map are easily
identifiable by the cracks in the word "Terrae" in the title (which
formed in the copperplate around 1603), which this map lacks. The
text was entirely abandoned after 1595. This is one of the earliest
maps to show New Guinea. Approximately 15.5 x 21 inches. Some
toning, creasing (including a large vertical crease down the
center), and some edgewear (with several short marginal tears, none
of which affect the image). Later tape reinforcement and one small
repair to verso. Still, a fine example of this rare and important
map.More Information:
Gerardus Mercator (1512-1594) was the most important and influential cartographer of the sixteenth century. He is not only famous for producing the most accurate maps of his day, but in the invention of the Mercator Projection, in which the world is pictured in a cylindrical-like fashion, showing the entire globe in a single map. The above map is by his youngest son, Rumoldus (1545-1599), who based it on his father's designs of the original (and now virtually unobtainable) map of 1567, after Gerardus died in 1594. The Mercators are considered the most important cartographers after Ptolemy.
Shirley 157. Tooley, p. 31.
Auction Info
Buyer's Premium per Lot:
25% on the first $50,000 (minimum $14), plus 20% of any amount between $50,000 and $1,000,000, plus 12% of any amount over $1,000,000 per lot.
Terms and Conditions | Bidding Guidelines and Bid Increments | Glossary of Terms