Visscher's "Twelve Caesars" map, named after the prominent decorations on the upper and lower border was first issued in 1639 as a separate issue and went through five separate states or issues until the last in 1652. It is larger than many of the folio atlases of its day so its inclusion was mainly in composite atlases or in tall paper examples of Visscher's "Atlas Minor".



It is perceived as one of the masterpieces of Claes Jansz Visscher II, the son of the patriarch of the firm who confusingly also used the same name. However, it was the son who took the firm to new heights, maintaining their excellence in maps and panoramas and also diversifying the business into Bibles, religious engravings and very lucrative real estate activity. Coincidentally he died in the same year that the last state of this map was printed at the age of sixty-five. The firm would continue to grow from strength to strength for several generations until 1726, when the business was purchased by Andries de Leth.



Both geographically and aesthetically, the design and layout of Visscher's map is derived from Willem Blaeu's map of 1606, which in turn is geographically based on the latter's wall map published in 1605. The two maps even share the same title. Given that Visscher was employed by Blaeu as an artist and engraver on the 1605 wall map, the skill of the engraving and the similarity is hardly surprising.



However, there is one substantial geographical difference between the two maps. In the north east of North America, there has been a substantial update and leap in the understanding of the geography of the region with the reports provided from the voyages of Henry Hudson, Thomas James, Luke Foxe and Sir Thomas Button, many of whom had already immortalised their names on these early maps. In turn, these reports were integrated with those of earlier individuals such as John Davis and Martin Frobisher and all of this was added to the even earlier exploration of the Portuguese Joao Fernandez Labrador in 1498 and the Corte de Real brothers in 1502, who provided the name the "Terra de Labrador", and the "Terra dos Corterealis", believed to be the earliest coastline of mainland North America to be sighted and mapped. These new discoveries together with the new understanding of the geography of the St. Lawrence River reported by Samuel Champlain were revealing a new and exciting landscape within the New World.



Visscher also develops the legend in the panel on the upper left; whereas Blaeu simply stated that Columbus discovered America in 1492 and it was named after Americo Vespucci after his voyage of 1499, Visscher repeats and adds greater detail, adding the names and dates of several circumnavigators such as Drake and Cavendish together with the achievement of Jacob Le Maire in finding the safer Le Maire Straits around Cape Horn. He also corrects the embarrassing typographic error, present on the 1639 edition of this map, stating that Columbus discovered America in 1592 and Vespucci's voyage took place in 1599.

The fine illustrated borders are one of those occasions where they not only emulated but equaled those of the Blaeu map of 1606. The upper and lower border acknowledge the classical world, with elaborate, mounted portraits of the Twelve Caesars who are described in one of the standard classical works of the same name by the Roman author Suetonius. Each corner has a large figure and scene representing the continents. The side borders bear images of the principal cities of all the continents together with costumed images of the inhabitants of these settlements.



Despite going through five different states and its obvious commercial success, this map is not common on the market, especially in this condition and colouring.


Our example is the final 1652 issue in bright original hand colour.

[Shirley 350] [WLD4916]