Die Eydtgnoschafft Punten und Wallis Helvetia cum Confinijs

Detailed map of Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Denotes towns, mountain ranges, bodies of water including Lake Geneva, and includes three cartouches and 33 city coat of arms in the top right corner.

This map is unusual in several ways. For it, Merian has departed from his usual map source, the Blaeu family. Instead, as shown on a small cartouche on the lower centre, he has used a map by "Hans Conrd Geiger" or Hans Konrad Gyger, a Swiss engineers and cartographer. Gyger was significant as the first Swiss map maker to use shading to indicate relief on his maps of Switzerland, as can been seen on this example. As usual, Merian reduced Gyger's original map to adapt it to the size of his "Archontologia Cosmica". 

Strong impression. [SWAS1568]