This superb double hemisphere world map is surrounded by engravings including allegorical representations of the continents as well as native inhabitants and wildlife. Visscher's decorations were so popular several other cartographers copied them. Two diagrams depicting the Ptolemaic and Copernican theories of the solar system appear within the cusps of the hemispheres. The northwest coast of North America is greatly exaggerated with the fictional El Streto d'Anian, while California is shown as a peninsula. In the Pacific, Western Australia, Van Diemens Landt, and a bit of New Zealand are also noted. This is the first state. Dutch text on verso.

References: Shirley #431; Poortman & Augusteijn #118.

Condition: B+

A crisp impression with folds and narrow side margins, as issued. There is minor soiling and professional repairs to a number of fold separations, to a tear that enters 3" into image at top left, and to an adjacent chip that just enters the image 1/8" with the image replaced in facsimile.