United Kingdom - Northwest England and the center of Wales; Gerard Mercator - Nord-Ouest de l'Angleterre - Gravure sur cuivre, coloris d'époque - Gerard Mercator - 1621-1650

Ancient copper-engraved map, hand-enhanced, from the northwest of England and Wales by Mercator, published in 1633 in the Mercator-Hondius atlas.

It features a cartouche adorned with two birds and a basket of flowers, bearing the map’s title. An English-mile scale is suspended below. The Irish Sea is covered with wavy hatchings. It is embellished with calligraphic lettering (Mare, Hibernicum) and a long-beaked, crested sea-monster. The relief is drawn in small hills, particularly in Cumbria and Wales. Towns, castles and churches are marked by figurings. The counties are distinguished by colors—yellow, pink and green. The Isle of Man and the island of Anglesey are depicted with their toponyms.

The reverse bears the French text of the “Third Table of England” (pp. 125 and 128).

- Dimensions: on the sheet: 56 x 47.5 cm; on the copper plate (the map itself): 46.9 x 35.3 cm
- Condition: Good overall for a map of its era. There is a central vertical crease, some browning and light soiling. See photos for more details.

Mercator-Hondius Atlas
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The atlas called “Mercator-Hondius” reprises the work of Gerard Mercator, whose copperplates were bought back 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 added new maps.

Gerard Mercator
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A Flemish geographer, mathematician and cartographer, born in Rupelmonde in 1512 and died in Duisburg in 1594. He studied at Leuven. He is known for his terrestrial and celestial globes, and for his world map of 1569 with the cylindrical projection, known as the “Mercator projection.” Settled in Duisburg from 1552, he prepared there a large collection of maps. His son Rumold published the complete atlas in 1595, the year after his death. Jodocus Hondius acquired the copperplates in 1604 and issued numerous editions. Those of the 1630s were published in Amsterdam by his heirs.