France - Pays de Limosin: former province of Limousin, today in Nouvelle-Aquitaine.; Jodocus Hondius - La Provence historique - Gravure sur cuivre, coloris d'époque - Jodocus Hondius - Limoges - 1621-1650

Ancient copper-engraved map of Limousin by Hondius, hand-enhanced, published in 1633 in the Mercator-Hondius atlas.

It shows a large architectural title cartouche adorned with garlands. In the upper right is a plan of Limoges with its caption. In the bottom left, a ram’s head surmounts the scale cartouche, which gives the miles of France and Germany. In the bottom right, a Latin dedication to Annet de Lévis, Duke of Ventadour, accompanies a royal lily-flowers crest. The territory is covered with villages in vignettes, shaded reliefs, and hand-colored wooded mountain ranges. The boundaries of neighboring provinces are outlined by coloured strips.

The map is accompanied by the French text printed on pages 257 and 260, with a description of the country and Latin verses.

- 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 and slight stains. See photos for more details.

Atlas Mercator-Hondius
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The atlas called “Mercator-Hondius” reuses the work of Gerard Mercator, whose copper plates were purchased 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.

Jodocus Hondius
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Jodocus Hondius (1563-1612), engraver and cartographer of Flemish origin, settled in Amsterdam. In 1604, he bought Gerard Mercator’s copper plates and published from 1606 the atlas bearing their two names. After his death, his sons and Jan Jansson continued the edition, notably for the 1633 edition.