France - Historic Provence: the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region; Jodocus Hondius II et Henricus Hondius - La Provence historique - Gravure sur cuivre, coloris d'époque - Henricus Hondius - 1621-1650

Ancient copper-engraved map of Provence, hand-enhanced by Jodocus Hondius II and Henricus Hondius, published in 1633 in the Mercator-Hondius atlas.

It shows Provence, from the Rhône valley to Nice, with the Comtat Venaissin, the County of Sault and the counties of Beuil and Nice.

The title cartouche, surmounted by a mascaron, is accompanied by a crowned fleur-de-lis shield. The relief is depicted in perspective, and towns, villages and forests are drawn one by one.
The Camargue, the Crau and the Étang de Berre are represented, as is the mouth of the Rhône, whose deltas are engraved in hatchings.
At sea, a sailing galleon and a fleur-de-lis wind rose accompany the cartouche of the scales, in French leagues and German miles.
The address cartouche at the bottom right bears the names Jodocus and Henricus Hondius and the year 1621.

Text in French on the verso (pp. 269 and 272), devoted to Provence and Marseille.

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

Atlas Mercator-Hondius
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The atlas called “Mercator-Hondius” reprises the work of Gerard Mercator, whose copperplates Jodocus Hondius bought back in 1604. This French edition of 1633 is signed by his son Henricus Hondius and his son-in-law Joannes Janssonius, who augmented it with new maps.

Jodocus Hondius II and Henricus Hondius
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Jodocus Hondius the Elder (1563-1612) acquired in 1604 the copperplates of Gerard Mercator’s atlas and published several reissues. His sons Jodocus II (1594-1629) and Henricus (1597-1651) continued this publishing activity in Amsterdam. After the death of Jodocus II, Henricus continued the atlas, notably with Johannes Janssonius.