Willem Janszoon Blaeu (1571–1638). Nova Belgica et Anglia Nova (Amsterdam: ca. 1635). Published in Theatrum Orbis Terrarum. Double-page copperplate engraving with original hand color. 15 1/4 x 19 ¾ in. at neat line with full margins. Finely colored decorative title cartouche, and handsome compass rose. Marvelous vignettes of a Mohawk Indian village top right, dugout canoes, and European sailing ships. Wonderful ornate typography. Verso: New Belgium & New England description in French. Bright color; very light toning; some scattered spots. Excellent condition. $5,500.
$5,500.00
Out of stock
Blaeu’s Highly Desirable Map of Colonial North America
This seventeenth-century gem by Willem Blaeu is an important and beautifully decorated map of New England produced at the height of the Golden Age of Dutch cartography. It is one of the earliest maps to show the area of North America colonized by the Dutch. The map names Nieu Nederlandt and for the first time designates Nieu Amsterdam, shown here as a fort at the tip of present-day Manhattan (properly separated from the mainland by the Hellegat, today’s East River).
Among the other significant features of “Nova Belgica,” the map boasts the first printed appearance in Europe of Indian canoes and of several animal species indigenous to North America, e.g., turkeys, polecats, beavers, and otters. Also depicted are bears, deer, foxes, rabbits, egrets, and cranes. The Mohawk village vignettes in the upper right were derived from John White’s illustrations of the first English colony and add a fascinating anthropological dimension. Characteristic of the Dutch love of ornament during this period, the superb decorative touches include a fleet of sailing vessels, putti holding the scale of distance, and dramatically embellished calligraphy that flows into complicated twists and curls. A compass rose points to the right, signaling the unusual western orientation of the map.
In the 1630s, Willem Blaeu, arguably the most important cartographer of the Dutch Golden Age, conceived a plan to create a massive atlas comprising the most up-to-date maps of the entire known world. The vast project advanced slowly and Willem died before he could complete it. His sons Joan and Cornelius assumed their father’s business, expanding on his ambitious plans. The project finally reached fruition with Joan’s publication in 1662 of the Atlas Maior in 11 volumes containing almost 600 double-page maps. “This was,” according to Moreland and Bannister, “and indeed remains, the most magnificent work of its kind ever produced.” It featured “fine engraving and colouring, elaborate cartouches and pictorial and heraldic detail and especially splendid cartography.” The achievements of the Blaeu dynasty were truly remarkable, and the elegant map offered here is a fine example of Willem’s mastery.
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