Anders Bure Map Scandinavia (1 results)

Very good. Mended centerfold split at bottom. Else a strong example with superb original color. Size 16.75 x 20.75 Inches. This is a 1635 edition of Willem Blaeu's map of Scandinavia at the height of the Thirty Years' War. It is based on Anders Bure's 1626 mapping of the region, which swiftly became the dominant mapping of the northern parts of Europe and was not replaced as an authority for more than a century. On the strength of his seminal map and its long tenure as the state-of-the-art map of the northern regions of Europe, Bure is hailed as the Father of Swedish Cartography. The scope of the map includes Denmark, Norway, the greater Swedish Empire, the Baltic coasts of Germany, Poland and Livonia, and the Russian Empire. A Closer Look The map spans from Frisia, the northern part of the Netherlands in the southwest, to the opening of the White Sea. Thus, the map embraces not only Scandinavia, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland but also the Baltic Sea, the northern parts of Lithuania, Livonia, Estonia, and Russia's northwestern frontiers. It is beautifully engraved and decorated with sailing ships. Forests and mountains are shown pictorially. Historical Context In 1635, when this map was printed, Scandinavia was deeply entangled in the Thirty Years' War (1618 - 1648), a massive European conflict with wide-reaching repercussions. Sweden, under the leadership of King Gustavus Adolphus (until his death in 1632), had emerged as a major Protestant power in Europe, intervening in the war to support Protestant states and counter the Catholic Habsburgs. By 1635, Sweden had signed the Treaty of Stettin (1630), securing its influence in northern Germany, and was at the height of its military and political dominance under Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna, who continued Sweden's participation in the war after Gustavus Adolphus's death. Denmark, on the other hand, had suffered a significant setback earlier in the conflict after King Christian IV's defeat in the Danish phase of the Thirty Years' War (1625 - 1629). The Treaty of Lübeck (1629) forced Denmark out of the war and limited its ambitions in northern Germany. At this time, Scandinavia was characterized by the contrasting fortunes of Sweden's rising power and Denmark's diminished influence, as both kingdoms vied for control of the Baltic region and dominance in northern Europe. Norway, united with Denmark in a personal union, played a more passive role during this period. Publication History and Census This map was engraved in 1634 for inclusion in Blaeu's Atlas, first appearing in the 1634 German text edition. The present example corresponds to the 1635 French-text edition of the atlas, the earliest in that language. We see perhaps nineteen examples of the separate map in institutional collections. References: OCLC 1118153525. Rumsey 10017.079 (1665). Signed by Author(s).