Atlas Maior
The Atlas Blaeu, Atlas Maior later (Latin for'' Big '' Atlas ) called, was published by Willem Janszoon Blaeu, but compiled by his son, the Amsterdam publisher Joan Blaeu 1662-1665. He is one of the most important atlases of the 17th century. The Atlas Maior was the most expensive and comprehensive book, which was published in the 17th century. He remained more than 100 years of binding world atlas.
As the Theatrum orbis terrarum by Abraham Ortelius decades earlier, he appeared under the title Theatrum orbis terrarum, sive, Atlas novus 1635 as a set of two volumes in German, Dutch, Latin and French. In 1645 he appeared in four volumes.
Description
With each issue, more and more new maps and more extensive descriptions in the Atlas were taken. As usual in the cartography of the 16th and 17th centuries, including cards from private atlases of other authors were in multi-volume atlases integrated, they were taken from older printing units (partly the old original copper plates were used ) or photocopied from existing maps, also was in different regions demand for maps. Thus, a series of maps of Scotland was included in the issue of 1654, which came from the Scottish cartographer Timothy Pont and in 1655 was Joan Blaeu Atlas Novus Sinensis the Jesuit Martino Martini added as separate single band without further processing in his Atlas Maior.
1662 included the Atlas eleven volumes and a nautical atlas, and was known from that time as Atlas Maior. It included 594 maps, which showed the then-known world of the early modern period, with all known at the time, countries, maps and astronomical observations.
Depending on the language of the Atlas was published, it included nine to eleven volumes. It was printed in black and white and the individual sheets were sold unbound. Depending on the customer's desire of these in his time extremely expensive atlas was completed, the hand-colored leaves and tied, in part, in vellum binding with gold decoration according to customer different expenses. On request, a matching bookcase was delivered to it. This very expensive cartographical masterpiece of the Baroque could afford very wealthy people. They were ordered as gifts of state.
Although Joan Blaeu, in his time one of the leading Dutch cartographer and publisher, the official cartographer of the Dutch East India Company was, like his father, Willem Blaeu, he was not allowed to use their secret maps and knowledge for his atlas. So he was forced to Atlas from all available at that time accessible maps and reports to compile. He underwent a thorough source of this criticism. In addition to the actual card work of The Atlas also includes a total of 3000 pages with Latin text for regional studies descriptions of individual countries. Because of the repeated use of the letters of the pages have been updated for each new edition.
Each map was drawn with an ornate cartouche with allegorical figures drawn in detail. Most cards are polar aligned, but not all, which was not unusual for that time. Also is not specified whether that card is now oriented or not. The representation of the interior of the continents and the entire coastline of the two poles of the earth has sprung the ausmalenden imagination and mix myth and reality, because at that time were not present this information in Europe.
The Atlas Maior is a much sought after and valuable antiquarian rarity today. Each of the 129 surviving copies of his Latin edition is now known very likely, since it has already been made at the time of its manufacture in very small print runs. These specimens were mainly as a valuable state gifts ( according to current price 20,000 euros ) to crowned heads and are now mostly owned by state libraries. For example, the Austrian National Library alone eight complete issues. In Russia, only one copy is in French: " Le Grand Atlas, ou Cosmographie Blaviane, en laquelle est exactement descritte la terre, la mer, et le ciel " ( 1667 ).
Reprints
In 2004 Taschen published a reprint of the Atlas Maior. 2006 was followed by more detailed individual volumes.
The Russian publisher Alfaret in St. Petersburg in 2008, together with the Russian National Library, a facsimile edition of all 12 volumes of the Atāls Maior in its original format brought out (title: " Большой атласа, или Космографии Блауа "). As a template, the only remaining Russian original of the Atlas Maior was built in 1667. The edition was only 25 numbered volumes, so that the Atlas for research purposes is readily available and can be viewed not only in the security department of the library.
In the Netherlands, the publisher "Hes & Deraaf Publishers BV " eight facsimile volumes of the 46 -volume Atlas Blaeu - Van der Hem, an enhanced version of the Atlas Maior, published. The original, which served as a template, was brought in 1730 by Prince Eugene of Savoy in Vienna, where it is still located today. Laurens van der Hem (1621-1678) had compiled this collection Atlas 2400 charts from 1662 to 1678.
Volumes
The edition of 1663 included:
According to other data (probably in other editions ), there were also maps of
- Spain and Portugal (28 cards; Hispania et Portugallia )
- Africa (13 cards; Africa)
- Austria (20 cards) ( Austria )
Maps of Australia are not included because it was not mapped at that time.
Single Cards
Among the cards from Europe, many from the German speaking count ( linked here the cards are from the four-volume atlas of 1645):
- Nova Totius Germaniæ descriptio ( Germania ) - Image
- Austria Archiducatus ( Archduchy Austria ) - Image
- Stiria, Steyrmarck (Styria ) - Image
- Bohemia ( Bohemia ) - Image
- Marchionatus Moravia ( Moravia ) - Picture
- Ducatus Silesia ( Duchy of Silesia ) - Image
- Silesia Inferior ( Lower Silesia ) - Image
- Ducatus Silesiae Glogani ( Duchy of Glogau ) - Image
- Comitatus Glatz ( Glatz ) - Image
- Saxonia Superior, cum et Meissen Lusatia ( Lausitz and Meissen with Upper Saxony ) - Image
- Lusatia Superior ( Upper Lusatia ) - Image
- Brandeburgum Marchionatus, cum Ducatibus Pomeraniæ et Mekelenburgi (Mark Brandenburg, Pomerania and Mecklenburg duchies ) - Image
- Pomeraniæ Ducatus tabula ( Duchy of Pomerania ) - Image
- Rugia Insulation ac Ducatus ( Principality of Rügen island ) - Image
- Meklenburg Ducatus ( Duchy of Mecklenburg ) - Image
- Ducatus Holsatiæ nova tabula ( Duchy of Holstein ) - Image
- Celeberrimi Fluvii Albis nova delineatio (Elbe ) - Image
- Ducatus Luneburgensis adiacentiumque regionum delineatio ( Principality of Lüneburg ) - Image
- Archiepiscopatus Maghdeburgensis, et Anhaltinus Ducatus cum Terris adjacentibus ( archbishopric of Magdeburg and Duchy of Anhalt with adjacent areas ) - Image
- Ducatus Brunsuicensis fereque Lunæburgensis cum adjacentibus episcopatibus comit domin etc. ( Duchy of Brunswick ) - Image
- Episcopatus Hildesiensis descriptio novissima ( Prince-Bishopric of Hildesheim ) - Image
- Vicious Westphalicus, immersive Germaniæ inferioris ( Westphalian Circle ) - Image
- Comitatus Oldenburg ( Oldenburg County ) - Image
- Type Frisiæ orientalis (Ostfriesland ) - Image
- Osnaburgensis Episcopatus ( Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück ) - Image
- Monasteriensis Episcopatus ( Prince-Bishopric of Münster ) - Image
- Comitatus Bentheim, Steinfurt et (county of Bentheim and Steinfurt ) - Image
- Westphalia Ducatus ( Duchy of Westphalia ) - Image
- Paderbornensis Episcopatus nova descriptio ( Prince-Bishopric of Paderborn ) - Image
- Comitatus Marchia et Ravens mountain ( Mark counties and Ravens mountain ) - Image
- Clivia Ducatus et Ravenstein Dominium ( Kleve Duchy and domination Ravenstein ) - Image
- Iuliacensis et Montensis Ducatus ( Duchy of Jülich and Berg Duchy ) - Image
- Archiepiscopatus Trevirensis ( Electorate and Archbishopric of Trier ) - Image
- Coloniensis Archiepiscopatus ( Archbishopric and Electorate of Cologne ) - Image
- Waldeck Comitatus (county Waldeck ) - Image
- Territory Abbatæ Heresfeldensis ( Abbey Hersfeld ) - Image
- Mansfeldia Comitatus ( county of Mansfeld ) - Image
- Landgraviatus Thuringia ( Thüringen Landgraviate ) - Image
- Franconia vulgo Franckenlandt (Franconia ) - Image
- Nassovia Comitatus ( Nassau counties ) - Image
- Palatinatus ad Rhenum ( Rhine Palatinate ) - Image
- Erpach Comitatus ( County of Erbach ) - Image
- Territory Norimbergense (Nuremberg ) - Image
- Palatinatus Bavariae ( Bavarian Palatinate ) - Image
- Bavaria Ducatus ( Duchy of Bavaria ) - Image
- Saltzburg Archiepiscopatus et Carinthia Ducatus ( Archbishopric of Salzburg and Carinthia Duchy ) - Image
- Sueviae nova tabula (Schwaben ) - Image
- Alemannia immersive Suevia Superior ( Upper Swabia ) - Image
- Wirtenberg Ducatus ( Duchy of Württemberg ) - Image
- Alsatia Landgraviatus, cum Suntgoia et Brisgoia ( Landgraviate Alsace with Sundgau and Breisgau ) - Image
- Helvetia, cum finitimis regionibus confœderatis ( Switzerland ) - Image
- Zurichgow et Basiliensis Provincia ( Zürichgau and Bishopric of Basel ) - Image
- Argow cum parte merid. Zurichgow - ( Aargau with parts of Zürichgaus ) - Image
- The Wiflispurgergow ( Wiflisburgergau ) - Image
- Alpinae seu fœderatæ Rhaetiae subditarumque an terrarum nova descriptio ( Raetia ) - Image
- Rhenus fluviorum European celeberrimus, cum Mosa, Mosella, et reliquis, in illum se exonerantibus, fluminibus ( Rhine Meuse, Moselle and tributaries ) - Image - ( The Rhine, Europe's most celebrated rivers, the Meuse, the Moselle and the remaining rivers that flow into it)
- Germaniae veteris, typus - image
Canon of the Netherlands
The atlas Major was included in the canon of the Netherlands Commission Van Oostrom. This historical canon contains 50 topics that need to be treated at every Dutch school in history class.
Lapland, Northern Cape, Hammerfest ( Atlas Maior )
Venice ( Atlas Maior )
United Kingdom (Atlas Maior )
The Moluccas (Atlas Maior )