Subject: South America - Southern
Period: 1646 (circa)
Publication: Le Theatre du Monde…
Color: Hand Color
Size:
21.5 x 16.5 inches
54.6 x 41.9 cm
Impressive map of the tip of South America showing the Strait of Magellan and Le Maire Strait. The coastlines are depicted as very mountainous, while the interior is completely without detail. A beautiful sheet, it is richly arrayed with rhumb lines, three compass roses, a fleet of ships, a coat of arms and a Latinized dedication to the artist and scientist Constantine Huygens. There are three strapwork cartouches with title, key and scale featuring a family group of natives. The map bears Willem Blaeu's signature, but it was published by his son, Johannes. French text on verso.
References:
Condition: B
A good impression on a sheet with 1/8-1/4" margins on the left and right. The margins have been backed with a strip of paper to reinforce them to repair a couple of short tears just past the border, evidently in a previous binding. There is some scattered foxing and a little abrasion on the edges of the map, still quite lovely with original color.