Braun & Hogenberg's Civitates Orbis Terrarum or "Cities of the World" was published between 1572 and 1617. Within the six volumes, 531 towns and cities were depicted on 363 plates, providing the reader with the pleasures of travel without the attendant discomforts. Braun wrote in the preface to the third book, "What could be more pleasant than, in one's own home far from all danger, to gaze in these books at the universal form of the earth . . . adorned with the splendor of cities and fortresses and, by looking at pictures and reading the texts accompanying them, to acquire knowledge which could scarcely be had but by long and difficult journeys?" Braun and Hogenberg incorporated an astonishing wealth of information into each scene beyond the city layout and important buildings. The plates provide an impression of the economy and prominent occupations, and illustrate local costumes, manners and customs.

This attractive bird's eye-view plan of the town of Kampen and its vicinity includes a key to seventeen locations in a cartouche at bottom left. The view is filled with activity along the roads and in the surrounding fields, with fishing boats in the IJssel River. A couple stands on a hillock in the foreground. Latin text on verso.

References: Fussel, pp. 242-43; Van der Krogt (Vol IV) #2020.

Condition: B+

A nice, early impression on a sheet with a small coat of arms watermark, minor soiling, some tiny chips along the edge of the sheet at bottom right, and mat burn confined to the margins. There are small remnants of hinge tape on verso.