This matching set of maps comes 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. Most of these maps were copied from Cloppenburg's edition of Atlas Minor and are therefore a bit larger, with some 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. Included in this lot are six maps of southwestern France, including four of the newly engraved maps. Each map is adorned with a decorative title cartouche and a distance scale. English text on verso.

A. Aquitania, (7.2 x 5.2"). Shows southwestern France from the Atlantic coast to the Rhone River.
B. Provincia, (7.2 x 5.2"). Shows Provence in southern France depicting the topography and cities of the region, including Avignon, Arles, Aix-en-Provence, and Marseille. The Rhone and Durance Rivers are well mapped, noting even the marshy area at the mouth of the Rhone.
C. Bourdelois Pais de Medoc et la Prevoste de Born, (9.3 x 6.6"). Shows the region around Bordeaux, south of the Garonne River, with a compass rose orienting north to the right of the map.
D. Xaintonge, (9 x 6.4"). Shows the west coast around Rochelle.
E. Cadurcium, (9.1 x 6.5"). Centered on Cahors, the map is oriented with north to the left and extends south to Montauban.
F. La Partie Septentrionale du Languedoc, (9.1 x 6.5"). This map extends from Cahors in the west to the Rhone River and the city of Avignon in the east.

References: Van der Krogt (Vol. III) #4002:351, #4520:351 (Sparke), #4590:351 (Sparke), #4610:351 (Sparke), #4700:351, #4800:351 (Sparke).

Condition: A

Nice impressions with light toning along the edges of the sheets and some small chips and tears also along the edges. The map of Bourdelois has some loss of the border at top due to the plate not being centered properly on the sheet during the printing process.