Dudley's elegant map of the coast of Argentina from Capo Blanco (C. Matas) to Bahia Blanca (C.S. Andrea). Dudley introduced a totally new style for sea charts in the Arcano del Mare with only lines of latitude and longitude and no rhumb lines. The charts were meticulously compiled from original sources and were both scientific and accurate for the time. The distinctive calligraphy (alla cancellaresca), fine cartouche, compass rose and sailing ship are the work of the engraver, Antonio Francesco Lucini.

Robert Dudley was the first Englishman to produce a sea atlas, Dell Arcano del Mare (Secrets of the Sea). This important atlas was the first sea atlas of the whole world; the first to use Mercator's projection throughout; the earliest to show the prevailing winds, currents and magnetic deviation; and the first to expound the advantages of Great Circle Sailing. In an introductory leaf found in one copy in the British Library, Lucini states that he worked on the plates in seclusion for twelve years in an obscure Tuscan village, using no less than 5,000 pounds of copper for the printing plates. According to the engraver, the Arcano del Mare took forty years to prepare and twelve to execute. It was only issued in two editions and the maps are rarely seen on the market. This map is from the second edition.

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Condition: A

A fine clean impression with minor spots in blank margins.