Subject: World
Period: 1640 (published)
Publication: Afbeeldinghe van d'Eerste Eeuwe der Societeyt Iesu
Color: Hand Color
Size:
5.4 x 4.1 inches
13.7 x 10.4 cm
This uncommon small double hemisphere world map was published in the abridged Dutch edition of Plantin's emblem book celebrating the centenary of the Jesuit Order. A cherub stands between the hemispheres with a bow and arrow. The Americas appear in an odd configuration, with California shown as an unnamed island below an expansive northwest coast that stretches off the edge of the map. The present-day United States and Canada are simply labeled Nova Francia. There is a protruding peninsula in South America, perhaps the Yucatan Peninsula located too far to the south. The coast of a vast, unknown southern continent is delineated in the Eastern Hemisphere. The map is surrounded by an ornate strapwork border and features a poem in Dutch below the engraved image. On a sheet with Dutch text measuring 6.4 x 8.6".
References: cf. Shirley #352.
Condition: A
A crisp impression with one small rust spot in the image at right and a small chip in the bottom left blank margin.