Subject: Tierra del Fuego
Period: 1635 (circa)
Publication:
Color: Hand Color
Size:
21 x 16.3 inches
53.3 x 41.4 cm
Impressive map of the tip of South America showing the Strait of Magellan and Le Maire Strait. The coastlines are depicted as very mountainous, while the interior is completely without detail. A beautiful sheet, it is richly arrayed with rhumb lines, three compass roses, a fleet of ships, a coat of arms and a Latinized dedication to the artist and scientist Constantine Huygens. There are three strapwork cartouches -- title, key and scale featuring a family group of natives. The map bears Willem Blaeu's signature, but it was published by his son, Johannes. Blank verso.
References: Van der Krogt (Vol. II) #9950:2B.
Condition: B
A crisp impression with full contemporary color on a bright sheet with light soiling and minor extraneous creasing. A 1.25" hole around the compass rose at bottom right has been professionally repaired with the image replaced in facsimile. A couple of short edge tears have also been professionally repaired, and there are small remnants of hinge tape on verso.