Jan Jansson
40 x 51 cm
This map is derived from the 1620 map by Jodocus Hondius, who derived his geography partly from Abraham Ortelius and Gerard Mercator, but also from a Dutch navigator called Joris Carolus who spent much of his life traveling in the northern seas, and likely visited Iceland on many occasions. He is credited on this map as "Georgio Carolo Flandro" (Joris Carolus of Flanders).
The rather crude and compressed shape of Iceland used by Hondius, and his contemporary Blaeu, was one of the longest-lasting depictions of the island and was used as the standard model for well over a century. This is partly a reflection of the dominance of the Hondius/Jansson and Blaeu families, but also an indication of how little new information about Iceland was being collected during this period.
This example is from the rare Spanish edition of the "Atlas Novus" first appearing in 1653. Descriptive text on reverse. Image available on request. Repaired split to of approximately 3cm on lower centre fold. Original hand-colour. [SCAN2645]

