DE WIT (FREDERICK)

Atlas, 103 maps with contemporary hand-colouring, Amsterdam, Frederick de Wit, [c.1688]

Footnotes

A VERY GOOD COPY OF DE WIT'S ATLAS WITH BRIGHT CONTEMPORARY COLOURING.

The fine and attractive double hemisphere world map, Nova orbis tabula, in Lucem edita, was first published in 1670 as a companion to De Wit's maritime map of 1668. Described by Shirley as "one of the most attractive of its time", the map contains finely engraved and coloured allegorical vignettes depicting the four seasons, the elements and signs of the zodiac. Ours map corresponds to Shirley 451, state 2, with cherubs placed in the cusps and a border added.

The map of the Americas, Novissima et accuratissima totius Americae descriptio, dating to around 1675 and replacing De Wit's earlier one of 1660, is notable for its inclusion of the five Great Lakes, which appear for the first time on a Dutch map. Burden has identified 9 states of the map, ours being placed somewhere between the second and fourth, with longitudinal numbers to the 10s, the Canaries re-engraved, no ships, and without the later additions in the Pacific.

The number of maps and compilation of the atlas corresponds to Koeman Wit 9, but with the addition of a map of Prussia. In addition to the World map, there are: 4 maps of the Continents, 5 of Asia (2 Middle East and Arabia, Southeast Asia, China, Palestine) and 91 European area maps including Germany (20), Italy (10, Sicily with inset town views), Low Countries (18), Spain/Portugal (7), Greece, the Pelopennese (fine folding map with inset town views), Crete, Malta, Cyprus etc.

Provenance: Franz Maximilian Hartmann von Klarstein (1662-1725), ownership inscriptions on front free endpaper and at head of engraved title.