Orbis terrae compendiosa Descriptio

MERCATOR, Rumold (1545-1599)

Published by Duisberg: 1587 [1603 or later]

About this Item

Engraved double-page double hemispheric world map with later hand coloring and in outline (Image: 11 1/4 x 20 1/2 in.; 28.6 x 52 cm; 16 1/2 x 22 in.; 41.9 x 55.9 cm), wide margins, Latin text on verso. BINDING/CONDITION: Floated on sturdy card stock and enclosed in mylar. Several cracks in plate evident in cartouche. (65B1A) The present work is a reduced version of the 1569 wall map of the world, on which the Mercator Projection was introduced. In the western hemisphere on the left, the prominent bulge in South America, a characteristic introduced by Gerard Mercator and evident on his 1569 world map, has been retained here. Tierra del Fuego forms part of a gigantic southern continent that continues in the eastern hemisphere. At the north pole, two of the four islands that Gerard Mercator thought surrounded the pole are evident. There is also a suggestion of a Northwest Passage via the Straits of Anian. Anian derives from Ania, a Chinese province on a large gulf mentioned in Marco Polo's travels. The gulf Polo described was actually the Gulf of Tonkin, but the province's description was transposed from Vietnam to the northwest coast of North America. The first map showing the transposition was Giacomo Gastaldi's world map (1562), followed by Zaltieri and Mercator. The Strait thus became synonymous with the Northwest Passage, i.e., a passage to China. It appeared on maps until the 18th century. Quivira, south of Anian, refers to the Seven Cities of Gold sought by Spanish explorer Francisco Vasquez de Coronado in 1541. Although he never found these fabulous cities, the name remained on maps of southwest North America. In the eastern hemisphere, Japan appears as a large, round island. The islands of Southeast Asia are arrayed with relative accuracy for the time. To the south, the names of Beach, Maletur, and Lucach reveal again Mercator's use of toponyms from Marco Polo. PROVENANCE: Swann Galleries, 6 June 2013, lot 137. REFERENCE: Shirley 157. Seller Inventory # 65ERM0014

Bibliographic Details

Title: Orbis terrae compendiosa Descriptio

Publisher: Duisberg: 1587 [1603 or later]

Binding: Soft cover

Condition: Good