France - Saintonge, former province of the Kingdom of France.; Gerard Mercator - Carte du Pais de Xaintonge - 1621-1650

Old copper engraving map of Saintonge, hand-colored by Mercator, published in 1633 in the Mercator-Hondius atlas.

It shows Saintonge, Aunis and the confines of Poitou and Angoumois, with Saintes, La Rochelle, Cognac, Jarnac, Pons, Brouage and Angoulême.
The title cartouche, at the bottom right, is surmounted by a mascaron. A cartouche adorned with grapevines bears the Amsterdam address, at Jodocus and Henricus Hondius. The scale in leagues is placed in a cartouche at the top left.
The Brouage marshes and the coast are engraved in shading, and the Île d'Oléron appears to the west. The villages are drawn with steeples, with wooded masses engraved. The coloring emphasizes the provincial boundaries.

French text printed on the verso (pp. 261 and 264), with historiated initial and ornamental band.

- Dimensions: on sheet: 56 x 47.5 cm; on the copper plate (map): 46.9 x 35.3 cm
- Condition: Good overall for a map of this period. Presence of a central vertical crease, a few brown damp stains in the upper margin and light soiling. See photos for more details.

Atlas Mercator-Hondius
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The atlas known as the “Mercator-Hondius” takes up the work of Gerard Mercator, whose copper plates 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 enlarged it with new maps.


Gerard Mercator
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Gerard Mercator (Rupelmonde, 1512 – Duisburg, 1594) was a Flemish cartographer. He produced a terrestrial globe in 1541 and a celestial globe in 1551, and then in 1569 presented the projection that bears his name. His atlas appeared posthumously in 1595, under the care of his son Rumold. The plates were resumed in 1604 by Jodocus Hondius, then by his heirs. The atlas was subsequently reissued in several languages, including French, by Henricus Hondius.