The most famous of all cartographic curiosities is the Leo Belgicus, in which the Low Countries were depicted in the form of a lion. This curious form of cartography is one of the highpoints in the Golden Age of mapmaking. This wonderful, miniature version of the Leo Belgicus is based on the original 1583 Aitsinger form with the lion standing facing right with a paw raised and holding a shield. It is beautifully engraved with a stippled sea filled with ships, a sea monster and a compass rose. This is the smallest version of all the Leos and bears the imprint of Joannis Cnobbari in Antwerp. This version of the Leo Belgicus is not in Tooley's list of variants (MCC-7). The De Bello Belgico, written by Famianus Strada, a Jesuit and teacher at the Collegium Romanum in Rome, was a pro-Spanish and pro-Catholic book on the Dutch war of independence.

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Condition: B+

A nice impression with professional repairs to some tiny chips and worm tracks along the edges of the sheet and just entering the border at left, with a minute amount of image skillfully replaced in facsimile.