This beautiful map, originally published in 1637, eventually replaced Hondius' map of the North Pole and became the prototype for many later maps including those of Blaeu. This map incorporates the discoveries made by Captain Thomas James along the southern and western shores of Hudson Bay in 1631-2. The delineation on Russia's Arctic coast is derived from the information from Willem Barents' exploration of 1596-7. The English explorer Hugh Willoughby has a small island named after him off the coast of Lapland (Sir Hugo Willoughby's Landt). Willoughby captained an expedition of three ships to find a Northeast Passage in 1553, but two of the ships were ripped away during a storm. Willoughby and his crew from the two ships died and were found on Novaya Zemla the following year, with his journal. The third ship with his second-in-command Richard Chancellor made it to Russia. Rhumb lines radiate from the North Pole and several compass roses embellish the chart. A large title cartouche, with two figures and numerous wind heads, conveniently hide the northwest coast of America. The map is further decorated with ships and a cartouche with Jansson’s imprint, which depicts men in parkas, a polar bear and foxes. This example is the fourth state of the plate with Nova Zemla connected to the mainland with a land bridge and the completed coastline of Spitzbergen. No text on verso.

References: Burden #250; Kershaw #110.

Condition: A

Nice impression and original color with some oxidation of the green color. The map has been professionally backed with light Japanese tissue to reinforce the paper, which is very sturdy.