Orbis Terrae Compendiosa Descriptio Quam ex Magna Universali Mercatoris

An attractive example of Rumold Mercator’s map of the world, first printed in Geneva (or Duisburg) in 1587. The map is based on Gerard Mercator’s celebrated 1569 world map and the copperplate was made while Gerard was still alive (1512- 1594). This is the only collectible world map with direct input from Gerard Mercator, the greatest geographer of his era. Both his 1538 and 1569 world maps are unobtainable rarities. The present work is a reduced version of the 1569 wall map of the world, on which the revolutionary Mercator Projection was introduced. Oddly, this folio version recast the map into a double-hemisphere format; Rumold chose not to employ his father’s namesake projection. To the left is the western hemisphere. 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 Pas

Date

1613

Mapmaker / publisher

Jodocus Hondius / Isaac Casaubon

Archive

Wikimedia Commons

Type

map

Original size

13,273 × 8,523 pixels

Need maps for a whole project? Add Find Any Map to Claude and ask for this one by its id: 145480.