Nova Totivs Terrarvm Orbis Geographica Ac Hydrographica Tabvla

A strong impression of Henricus Hondius’s double hemisphere map of the world with elaborate illustrated borders.

In 1630, Henricus Hondius prepared a new, updated map of the world to be included in their flagship atlas which was originally issued in 1606. Commercial rivalry with Willem and Joan Blaeu as well as the venerable Visscher firm convinced Hondius that a major overhaul and revision of the work was needed. One of the new updates was this fine map, sometimes referred to as the “portrait map” in reference to the large portraits in the corner medallions. Differing radically from the previous map of the world in the atlas, this new inclusion is far more ornate, reflecting the change in public taste to artistic innovation as well as geographical accuracy. The four portraits of Julius Caesar, Gerhard Mercator, Claudius Ptolemy and Jodocus Hondius the Elder act as cornerstones to the work while large vignettes of the elements adorn further parts of the border. The medallion in the lower centre shows allegorical figures of the continents while the upper globe depicts the celestial sphere. The rest of the borders are filled with the floral bounties of the earth.

Geographically, the map presents somewhat of a conundrum. The western hemisphere bears a close resemblance to the geography first presented by John Speed in his map of the world issued in 1627. This is particularly emphasized by both maps showing California firmly as an island, reflecting the general belief in this myth at the time. In the eastern hemisphere, Hondius clearly departs from Speed’s map, particularly in his depiction of Korea as a peninsula, much against current belief of the time, which was also usually portrayed as an island. This is just one discrepancy from Speed’s map; they also differ in the portrayal of Africa, the east coast of Asia and the shapes of Japan, Arabia, India and Europe.

Further comparison provides a far closer geographical match of these regions to a map printed in Paris in 1628 by Cornelis Danckerts and Melchior Tavernier. The shapes of India and Arabia are a much closer match, both maps show Korea as a Peninsula and both maps show the new names on the north coast of Australia after the expedition of Jan Carstenz in 1623. The Danckerts map is the first to show these. However, there are also discrepancies between these two maps, particularly in the shape Africa and the east coast of Asia.

There is another intriguing possibility. In his authoritative carto-bibliography, “The Mapping of the World”, Rodney Shirley records a four sheet map of the world, of which only two sheets have been found: one covers North America and the other covers the southern half of Africa, Madagascar and the Indian Ocean. These sheets were described and recorded by the renowned cartographic scholar Dr. Gunther Schilder who tentatively attributed them to Jodocus Hondius the Elder, Henricus Hondius and Nicolas Visscher with a date of 1627. A comparison of the southern part of the African continent and the shape of Madagascar from this map bears a far closer resemblance to Henricus Hondius’s 1630 map than the Danckerts map of 1628. 
Unfortunately, there is no further record of the other two sheets of this map but it is not beyond the realms of possibility that Hondius used his own earlier map, compiled from the documents of his father and Visscher, as a source.

The ”portrait map” proved a great success, going through multiple editions until its final one in 1666 under the firm of the Heirs of Jansson. The use of the portraits drew several emulators such as Jacob Colom and Hugo Allard. Today it is a prized acquisition for any map collection as one of the great maps of the Dutch Golden Age.

This example is the 1636 edition with English text on the reverse. Image of reverse available on request. Side margins extended with partial reinstatement of outer neatline. [WLD4830]