NETHERLANDS. Ortelius. 1570/1571.
Descriptio Germaniae Inferioris. 20”w x 15”h. Minor loss at centerfold. Left margin close. Image very good. Latin text verso (page 14).

This Latin text version with page number 14 was published in Abraham Ortelius, Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (Antwerp: 1570 and 1571). This particular copy appeared in the 1571 edition. References: Koeman, Atlantes Neerlandici, Ort 2, and Marcel van den Broecke, Ortelius Atlas Maps, 58. Van den Broecke estimates that 275 copies of this 1571 Latin version were published (The Map Collector, issue 36).

This oval map of Holland, Belgium and Luxemburg is surrounded by a rectangular frame. France is at the left, Antwerp at the center, and Amsterdam and the Zuyder Zee on the right. A pair of winged cherubs holds the title cartouche above the North Sea. Two ships and a sea monster are in the North Sea.

BRABANT (NETHERLANDS & BELGIUM). Ortelius. 1570/1571.
Brabantiae, Germaniae Inferioris Nobilissimae Provinciae Descriptio. Jacobo a Dauetria auct. 14.3"h x 19.7"w. Latin text verso on page 16. Centerfold reinforced. Inch-long, 1/4-inch wide loss at centerfold.

Published in Abraham Ortelius' Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (Antwerp: Aegidius Coppen Diesth, 1571). Reference Koeman Ort 2 and Marcel van den Brocke, 65. Map by Jacob van Deventer (ca. 1500-1575).

North is to the left. Brabant was a duchy of the Netherlands covering what is now the southern part of the Netherlands and northern and central Belgium. The Mosa (Maas) (Meuse) River flows northeast past Namur, Liege and Maastricht Belgium, then enters the Netherlands and bends west to empty into an estuary near Dordrecht. Antwerp is shown near the bottom center of the map.

BOHEMIA. Münster. 1545-1552.
Bohemia Nova Descriptio Tabula XVII. 15”w x 11 “h. Woodcut. Latin text verso with page number 45. This page number appears on the 1545, 1551 and 1552 editions of the map. Right and left hand coordinate scales partially trimmed.

Published in Sebastian Münster, Geographia Universalis.... Basle: Heinrich Petri, 1545 and in Geographiae Claudii Ptolemaei Basel: Heinrich Petris, 1552. Petri (1508-1579) was Munster's stepson.

This is a Ptolemaic-style map of Bohemia oriented north to the bottom. “Prag” (Prague) is shown near the center of the map. Mountains and forests are indicated in profile. A table describing map symbols is at the lower right.

Sebastian Münster (1488-1552) was a German cartographer, cosmographer, and Hebrew scholar whose Geographiae (first published in 1540) was one of the earliest descriptions of the world and a major work in the revival of geographic thought in 16th-century Europe. At least 41 separate editions of his famed Geographiae and Cosmographia were published between 1540 and 1628.

Claudius Ptolemaeus (approx. 100 - approx. 180 AD.) also known as Ptolemy, was a cartographer, geographer and astronomer working in Alexandria. Ptolemy worked at the museum in Alexandria which had one of the most important libraries of the Ancient World. This provided him the basis for his extensive research in the fields of astronomy, geography, optics, etc. In his “'Geographike Hyphegesis”, he wrote an introduction to cartography and a list of coordinates of over 8,000 locations on the surface of the earth known in his time. None of his maps, if there were any, survives.

BOHEMIA. Münster. 1545-1552.
Bohemia Nova Descriptio Tabula XVII. 15”w x 11 “h. Woodcut. Latin text verso with page number 45. This page number appears on the 1545, 1551 and 1552 editions of the map. Short separation at centerfold extending into coordinate scale. Edges of sheet toned.

Published in Sebastian Münster, Geographia Universalis.... Basle: Heinrich Petri, 1545 and in Geographiae Claudii Ptolemaei Basel: Heinrich Petris, 1552. Petri (1508-1579) was Munster's stepson.

This is a Ptolemaic-style map of Bohemia oriented north to the bottom. “Prag” (Prague) is shown near the center of the map. Mountains and forests are indicated in profile. A table describing map symbols is at the lower right.

Sebastian Münster (1488-1552) was a German cartographer, cosmographer, and Hebrew scholar whose Geographiae (first published in 1540) was one of the earliest descriptions of the world and a major work in the revival of geographic thought in 16th-century Europe. At least 41 separate editions of his famed Geographiae and Cosmographia were published between 1540 and 1628.

Claudius Ptolemaeus (approx. 100 - approx. 180 AD.) also known as Ptolemy, was a cartographer, geographer and astronomer working in Alexandria. Ptolemy worked at the museum in Alexandria which had one of the most important libraries of the Ancient World. This provided him the basis for his extensive research in the fields of astronomy, geography, optics, etc. In his “'Geographike Hyphegesis”, he wrote an introduction to cartography and a list of coordinates of over 8,000 locations on the surface of the earth known in his time. None of his maps, if any, survives.

FRANCE. Muenster. 1545-1552.
Tabula Europae III. 10”h x 13”w. Right and left margins trimmed into coordinate scales. Map image very good. Woodcut. Latin text verso, page 5.

Published in Sebastian Muenster Geographia Universalis.... (Basle: Heinrich Petri, 1545-1552). Heinrich Petri, Muenster’s son-in-law, published the Geographia for Muenster. This map does not appear in Munster’s Cosmographia.

This is a primitive style woodcut map of France and the Low Countries west of the Rhine River. The configuration is trapezoidal, in an early attempt to account for the convergence of the meridians. Relief is shown pictorially. The place names “Parisij” and “Alpes” are recognizable, but many of the other Roman place names are not so easily recognized.

NORTHERN FRANCE. Ortelius. 1570/1571.
Two maps on one sheet: Caletensium et Bononiensium Ditionis Accurata Delineatio, with imprint: Descripta & edita a Nicolao Nicolai Delphinate, Parisijs 1558 [and] Veromanduorum Eorum Que Confinium Exactissima Descriptio. Johanne Surhonio Auctore. 13.1"h x 19.0"w together. Reinforcement at centerfold. Images very good. Abraham Ortelius credits his sources, Nicolas Nicolay and Jean Surhon, on these two maps. Latin text verso with page number 11.

First published in 1570, this version was published in Ortelius' Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (Antwerp, Aegidius Coppen Diesth, 1571). References Koeman Ort 2, map 11, and van de Broecke, Ortelius Atlas Maps, 44.

Caletensium. Map of the vicinity of Calais, France across the English Channel from Dover, England, just appearing on the map. Calais is prominently shown as a walled city. Greuelinge (Gravelines) on the Aa River is at the top, and Monstreul (Montreuil) on the Canche River is at the bottom.

Veromanduorum. This map, oriented with North down, covers part of the present department of Aisne. The towns of Peronne, Cambrai and Guise are among those included.

SOUTHERN FRANCE (and) LAKE GENEVA. Ortelius. 1570/1571.
Two maps on one sheet:
Galliae Narbonensis Ora Marittima Recenter descripta. [and] Sabaudiae, Et Burgundiae Comitatus descriptio; auctore Aegidio Bulionio Belga. 11.7"h x 17.6"w together. Latin text on page 12. Centerfold reinforced.

Published in Abraham Ortelius' Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (Amsterdam: Aegidius Coppen Diesth, 1571). References Koeman Ort 2, map 12; and van den Broecke, Ortelius Atlas Maps, 48. Replaced in 1584 by a map with an additional image.

Galliae. This map shows the Mediterranean coast of France from Marseille to Narbonne. The Rhodanus fl. (Rhone River) is shown flowing by Avignon and Arles into the Mediterranean.

Sabaudiae. This map is centered about Lacus Lemanus (Lake Geneva). Near the upper right the Rhine flows by Strassburg Germany. Lyon France is at the left center. Grenoble is near the lower left. This map is by Gilles Boileau de Buillon (1525-1563).

FRANCE – CAMBRAY. Blaeu. 1631/1645.
Archiepiscopatus Cameracensis. Archevesche de Cambray. Imprint in lower right: Amsterdami Apud Guiljelmum Blaeuw. 15”h x 20”w. Generous margins. Original color. Foxing evident in right and lower margins. Lower margin ragged at right. Image in very good condition. Latin text verso.

Originally appeared in 1631, this edition in Guil. et Joannis Blaeu Theatrum orbis terrarum.... (Amsterdam, Joan Blaeu, 1645). Koeman Bl 24A.

The city of Cambray (now Cambrai) is at the center of the map. In an attractive cartouche at the lower left Blaeu dedicates this map to D. Francisco Vander Burgh, the Archbishop of Cambray.

FRANCE – BITURICUM. Blaeu. 1631/1645.
Bituricum Ducatus. Duche de Berri. Imprint under upper neat line:Amsterdami Guiljelmus Blaeu excudit. 15”h x 20”w. Generous margins. Insect hole (1/8 inch diameter) inside right neat line, not affecting image. Margins reinforced at lower right. Original color augmented. Latin text verso.

Originally appeared in 1631, this edition in Guil. et Joannis Blaeu Theatrum orbis terrarum.... (Amsterdam, Joan Blaeu, 1645). Koeman Bl 24A.

The city of Nevers and the Loire River are at the right.

FRANCE – GASTINOIS. Blaeu. 1631/1645.
Gastinois et Senonois. Imprint center left:Amsterdami Excud. Guiljelmus Blaeu. 15”h x 20”w. Generous margins. Original color augmented. Very good condition. Latin text verso.

Originally appeared in 1631, this edition in Guil. et Joannis Blaeu Theatrum orbis terrarum.... (Amsterdam, Joan Blaeu, 1645). Koeman Bl 24A.

The city of Orleans lies at the left margin along the Loire River. The Seine River is at the right. The city of Sens lies along the Yonne River which later joins the Seine.

FRANCE – SEDAN. Blaeu. 1631/1645.
Les Souverainetez de Sedan et de Ravcourt et la Prevoste de Doncheri. Imprint in lower right: Amsterdami Apud Guiljelmum Blaeuw. 15”h x 20”w. Generous margins. Original color. Foxing evident in right and lower margins. Image in very good condition. Latin text verso.

Originally appeared in 1631, this edition in Guil. et Joannis Blaeu Theatrum orbis terrarum.... (Amsterdam, Joan Blaeu, 1645). Koeman Bl 24A.

Located in Northern France near the border with Belgium. The cities of Sedan and Doncheri are near the center of the map along the Meuse River.

FRANCE – BURGUNDY. Blaeu. 1631/1645.
Utriusque Burgundiæ, tum Ducatus tum Comitatus, Descriptio. Imprint in separate cartouche at bottom: Amsterdami Apud Guiljelmum Blaeu. 15”h x 20”w. Generous margins. Original color. Foxing evident in lower right margins. Image in very good condition. Latin text verso.

Originally appeared in 1631, this edition in Guil. et Joannis Blaeu Theatrum orbis terrarum.... (Amsterdam, Joan Blaeu, 1645). Koeman Bl 24A.

Beautiful cartouche at lower right. The Saône River shown descending south near the center of the map. Chalon is shown along that river.

FRANCE – LIONNOIS. Blaeu. 1635/1645.
Lionnois, Forest, Beaviolios et Masconnois. Imprint lower right: G. Blaeu excud. 15”h x 20”w. Generous margins. Original color augmented. Latin text verso.

Originally appeared in 1635, this edition in Guil. et Joannis Blaeu Theatrum orbis terrarum.... (Amsterdam, Joan Blaeu, 1645). Koeman Bl 24A.

The city of Lyons lies near the bottom at the confluence of the Rhone and Saône Rivers. The Loire River splits the map horizontally.

FRANCE – LIONNOIS. Blaeu. 1635/1645.
Lionnois, Forest, Beaviolios et Masconnois. Imprint lower right: G. Blaeu excud. 15”h x 20”w. Generous margins. No color. Latin text verso.

Originally appeared in 1635, this edition published in Guil. et Joannis Blaeu Theatrum orbis terrarum.... (Amsterdam, Joan Blaeu, 1645). Reference Koeman Bl 24A.

Lyonnais is located in Southeast France. The capitol city Lyons lies near the bottom of the map at the confluence of the Rhone and Saône Rivers. The Loire River splits the map horizontally.

PARIS. Picquet. ca. 1820
[Untitled Sheet 7 of Atlas Topographique en XVI feuilles...] Consists of 10 segments, each 12cm. wide by 20 cm. high, mounted on linen. Entire image is 24” w x 15”h. This is Sheet 7 of 16 in the atlas. Original color. Excellent condition.

Decorated label verso: "Ch Picquet Géographe ordinaire du Roi et de S. A. S. Monseigr le Duc D'Orléans.’ With imprint: “A Paris Quay de Conti No. 17 entre l’Hotel des Monnaies et le Pont des Arts”. According to Tooley, Charles Picquet (1771-1827) used that address in 1820.

Published in Atlas topographique en XVI feuilles des environs de Paris :à la distance d'environ 8 myriamètres, ou 18 lieues, dans sa moyenne étendue, dressé sur une échelle de 31 Millimètres pour 2 kilomètres, 4 lignes pour 300 toises par Dom G. Coutans, ex-Bénédictin.... The mapmaker was Guillaume Coutans (b.1724, (French). According to Tooley, the map was first issued in 1775, and then revised by Picquet in 1800.

This sheet covers the local area northeast of Paris. A portion of Paris is shown in the lower left corner. Relief is shown by hachures.

BOHEMIA. Ortelius. 1570/1571.
Regni Bohemiae Descriptio. 13.2"h x 20.1"w. Latin text verso on page 25. Centerfold and right and left margins reinforced. Slight staining at centerfold. Image very good.

Published in Abraham Ortelius' Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (Antwerp, Aegidius Copen Diesth, 1571). Reference Koeman Ort 2 and Marcel van den Broecke,Ortelius Atlas Maps, 101. Van den Broecke estimates that 275 copies of the 1571 Latin edtion were printed (The Map Collector issue 36).

An attractive depiction of Bohemia showing the rivers, the Bohemian Forest at the southwest and mountains to the southeast. The title cartouche is at the lower left. The scale is in another cartouche at the lower right. A short section of the Danube River is at the bottom. Prague is near the upper center on the Multavia (Moldau) River which joins the Elbe north of Prague.

GERMANY. Münster. ONLY EDITION. 1552.
Svevia et Bavaria XII Nova Tabula. 15”w x 11 “h. Woodcut. Latin text verso with page number 40. This number appears only on the 1552 edition of the map. Very good condition.

Published in Sebastian Münster, Geographiae Claudii Ptolemaei Alexandrini.... Basel, Henricus Petrus, 1552.

This is a Ptolemaic-style map of Germany oriented north to the bottom. The Rhenus fl. (Rhine River) is shown at the right the map. Suevia, shown at the center of the map, is the Latin term for Swabia. Swabia (German Schwaben) was a medieval duchy in the lands now forming southwestern Germany. Its territories covered the area now occupied by Baden-Württemberg (including the Black Forest) and parts of western Bavaria (to the Lech River) and northern Switzerland.

Sebastian Münster (1488-1552) was a German cartographer, cosmographer, and Hebrew scholar whoseGeographiae (1540) was one of the earliest descriptions of the world and a major work in the revival of geographic thought in 16th-century Europe. At least 41 separate editions of his famed Geographiae and Cosmographia were published between 1540 and 1628.

Claudius Ptolemaeus (approx. 100 - approx. 180 AD.) also known as Ptolemy, was a cartographer, geographer and astronomer working in Alexandria. Ptolemy worked at the museum in Alexandria which had one of the most important libraries of the Ancient World. This provided him the basis for his extensive research in the fields of astronomy, geography, optics, etc. In his “'Geographike Hyphegesis”, he wrote an introduction to cartography and a list of coordinates of over 8,000 locations on the surface of the earth known in his time. None of his maps, if any, survives.

GERMANY. Münster. 1545-1552.
Germania VI Nova Tabula. 14 ¾”w x 11 “h. Woodcut. Latin text verso with page number 33. This number appears only on the 1545, 1551, and 1552 editions of the map. Right margin rough. Centerfold separation poorly repaired. Tear in lower margin extending through coordinate scale. Poor condition.

Published in Sebastian Münster, Geographia Universalis.... Basle: Heinrich Petri, 1545 and in Geographia Claudii Ptolemaei.... Basel: Heinrich Petrus, 1552. Petri (1508-1579) was Munster's stepson.

This is a Ptolemaic-style map of Germany oriented north to the bottom. The Rhenus (Rhine) River is shown in the middle of the right half of the map.

Sebastian Münster (1488-1552) was a German cartographer, cosmographer, and Hebrew scholar whose Geographiae (1540) was one of the earliest descriptions of the world and a major work in the revival of geographic thought in 16th-century Europe. At least 41 separate editions of his famed Geographiae and Cosmographia were published between 1540 and 1628.

Claudius Ptolemaeus (approx. 100 - approx. 180 AD.) also known as Ptolemy, was a cartographer, geographer and astronomer working in Alexandria. Ptolemy worked at the museum in Alexandria, which had one of the most important libraries of the Ancient World. This provided him the basis for his extensive research in the fields of astronomy, geography, optics, etc. In his “'Geographike Hyphegesis”, he wrote an introduction to cartography and a list of coordinates of over 8,000 locations on the surface of the earth known in his time. None of his maps, if any, survives.

EASTERN GERMANY. Ortelius. 1570/1571.
Saxoniae, Misniae, Thuringiae, Nova Exactissimaq[ue] Descriptio. 13.5"h x 19.9"w. Latin text on page 23. Left margin augmented. Centerfold reinforced.

First published in 1570, this edition published in Abraham Ortelius' Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (Antwerp: Aegidius Coppen Diesth, 1571), Koeman Ort 2. Map 93. Marcel van den Broecke, Ortelius Atlas Maps, 93.

The Albis (Elbe) river flows northwest through the middle of the map. Prague is at the bottom along a river feeding into the Elbe. Dresda (Dresden), Meisen (Meissen), Witteberg (Wittenberg) and Magdaburg (Magdeburg) are shown along the Elbe. Frankfurt on the Oder is near the upper right. Hamelen, now Hameln, (the scene of the legend of the Pied Piper) is at the upper left along the Weser River.

SWABIA, GERMANY. Blaeu. 1630/1635.
Sueviæ Nova Tabula. Imprint lower left: Amstelodami. Apud Guiljelmum Blaeuw. 14 ½”h x 19”w. Paper tape remnants on verso from earlier framing. Original color. Image very good. Map by Jodocus Hondius, the younger (1594 or 1595-1629). Blaeu purchased the plate from Hondius’ widow in 1629 and changed the imprint to Blaeuw.

Blaeu originally published the map in 1630 in his Atlantes Appendix....which had no text verso. Reference Koeman Bl 1. This issue with Latin text verso was published 1635 in Guiljelmi et Ioannis Blaeu Theatrum Orbis Terrarum ... Amsterdami, Apud Guiljelmum et Iohannem Blaeu; Koeman Bl 14.

Swabia [sway'-bee-uh] (German Schwaben, Latin Suevia), with its capital at Augsburg, was a medieval duchy in the lands now forming southwestern Germany. It covered the area now occupied by Baden-Württemberg and parts of western Bavaria (to the Iller River) and northern Switzerland. Its importance was its strategic position between the upper reaches of two of Europe's most important rivers, the Danube and the Rhine.

The map is centered on Ulm, Germany, through which the Danube River flows northeast from the Alps. The Rhine River flows north from the Alps at the left side of the map. The map includes Augsburg, Stuttgart, and Heidelberg, Germany; Lake Constance (Boden See); and Zurich, Basel and Lucerne, Switzerland.

BRANDENBURG GERMANY. Blaeu. 1662.
March. Brandenburgici Pars, quæ Marchia Media vulgo Mittesmarck audit. Imprint: Amstelædami Excud. Johannes Blaeu. 15 ½” h x 20 ½”w. Outer edges of margins wrinkled. Beautifully colored. Wide margins. Image in very good condition. Blank coat of arms at the upper right. The title cartouche with a hunting dog, deer and wild boar is at the lower right; the scale cartouche is at the lower left. Latin text verso.

First issue; scarce due to its first appearance late in the firm's life. Map by Joan Blaeu (c1599-1673), son of Willem Blaeu. Published in Joan Blaeu’s Atlas Maior, 1662. Reference Koeman Bl 56, Vol. I, page 210, map 510.

A beautiful and decorative copper plate map of what was historically part of Prussia, but since 1945 lies partly in Poland and partly in Germany. This portion of Brandenburg covers the area west of the Oder River. Frankfurt am Oder is at the right of the map. Plawe (Plauen) is near the left border. Spandow is near the center of the map.

HESSEN GERMANY. Homann. c1720.
Landgraviatus Hassiæ Inferioris nova Tabula, in qua præcique Ditiones Hasso-Casselense et Comitatus Waldeck cum insertis et vicinis alioru Statuum Præfecturis exhibentur. Imprint: a Ioh. Bapt. Homanno Noribergæ. 19”h x 22 ½”w. Copper engraving. Old repair with paper to lower centerfold. Margins soiled and stained. Original hand-outline and wash color. Image in good condition. The verso is blank except for the words “Kur-Hessen” in bold manuscript. The title cartouche is at the upper left. A forest scene with hunters is at the upper right. Neither cartouche is colored as was the general practice for original coloring of Homann maps. The map is by Johann Baptist Homann (1664-1724), a German engraver and publisher in Nuremberg.

This is a very detailed map of Lower Hessen with its individual duchies and territories showing place names, rivers, woods and mountains. Cassell (Kassel) is at the center of the map.

GERMANY. Gray. 1877.
Germany, Austria and Switzerland. GERMANY. Gray. 1877. Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Lower right: Drawn by F. A. Gray. Engraved by J. M. Atwood. 15”w x 12”h. Margins slightly soiled. Map image in very good condition. Original wash color.

Published in The National Atlas Containing Elaborate Topographical Maps of the United States . . . (Philadelphia, O. W. Gray & Son, 1877).

At this time Austria included Bohemia, Tyrol, Galicia, Hungary, Transylvania, Austrian Servia, Styria, Sclavonia, Croatia, Istria and Illyria.