Italy - Duchy of Milan: southwest and central Lombardy; Henricus Hondius - Mediolanum Ducatus - 1621-1650

Ancient copper-engraved map, hand-highlighted of the Duchy of Milan (Mediolanum Ducatus) by Hondius, published in 1633 in the Mercator-Hondius atlas.

Here one sees the duchy of Milan extending from the Po plain to the Alps, with Milan depicted by a small view of a fortified town. The great lakes Maggiore, Lugano, Como, Orta, Iseo and Garda are well represented. The relief is drawn in hatched and colored mountains, in the north as on the Apennine reliefs. The main towns (Pavia, Novara, Cremona, Piacenza, Parma, Brescia, Bergamo) are indicated by small views. The title cartouche is topped by the crowned arms of Milan. The scale cartouche, in Italian miles and German miles, is decorated with scrolls and a scallop shell. The borders are outlined in yellow, pink and green.

- Dimensions: on sheet: 56 x 47.5 cm; on the plate (map) 46.9 x 35.3 cm
- Condition: Good overall condition for a map of this era. Presence of a central vertical crease, light stains, and brown water-stain spots in the upper margin. See photos for details.

Atlas Mercator-Hondius
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The atlas called “Mercator-Hondius” reproduces the work of Gerard Mercator, whose copper plates were repurchased by Jodocus Hondius in 1604. This French edition of 1633 is signed by his son Henricus Hondius and his son-in-law Joannes Janssonius, who enlarged it with new maps.

Henricus Hondius
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Henricus Hondius (1597-1651) was a cartographer, engraver and publisher from Amsterdam, son of Jodocus Hondius. The latter had repurchased Gerard Mercator’s copper plates in 1604 and published the atlas called “Mercator-Hondius.” After Jodocus’s death, Henricus continued the edition of the atlas, in association with his brother-in-law Johannes Janssonius. He published new editions, in several languages, including the 1633 one.