This is a scarce, small map of Peru with small portions of present-day Bolivia and Chile. The map is fully engraved to depict the mountainous country and numerous towns and cities of the Inca civilization. A compass rose orients north to the left, and the map is further decorated with a strapwork title cartouche. This map is from the English edition of Mercator's Atlas Minor, which was published under the title Historia Mundi or Mercators Atlas by Michael Spark and Samuel Cartwright. After acquiring the plates to the 1607 edition of the Mercator/Hondius Atlas Minor, Sparke republished the maps with text translated into English by Wye Saltonstall. Sparke also had 41 additional maps engraved for the Historia Mundi, including this map of Peru. Most of these maps were copied from Cloppenburg's edition of Atlas Minor, and some were signed by the engravers Jacob van Langren and Ralph Hall. These additional maps only appeared in the 1635, 1637 and 1639 editions of the Historia Mundi and are therefore quite scarce. English text on verso.

References: Van der Krogt (Vol. III) #9820:351 (Sparke).

Condition: B+

A nice impression with light show-through of text on verso, a couple of spots of foxing, and a small worm hole in the fleur-de-lis of the compass rose.