1636 Mercator Antique Map of Switzerland Geneva to Bern

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Helpful Links: Company Details - About ME Payment & Shipping Options View seller's other items Cartographer's Profile Ask Seller a q uestion Refund Policy About Classical Images We have over 2,000 items for sale on our Ebay stores site. Please the search engine to the left to search specifically for maps, prints, Atlases on the Classical Images Stores, thank you Das Wiflispurgergov. This fin e beautifully hand coloured original antique map of western Switzerland - from Lake Geneva in the SW to Lake Bienne in the north and the Thuner See & Bern in the east - was published in the rare 1636 English edition of Mercator's Atlas published by Henricus Hondius and Jan Jansson. As there were so few of these atlases published in English that maps from them are now understandably scarce. The text running for two pages on the verso of this map describes the region or country name, history (as it was), temperature, seasons, soil and agricultural productivity. Also described is the topography, wildlife, local inhabitants their culture and religion, as well as a description of major European and local towns and cities. This text makes extremely enjoyable reading and a very good insight not only into the area described but the general European attitudes towards alien countries and cultures. The text running for two pages on the back of the map generally describes the region or country name, history (as it was), temperature, seasons, soil and agricultural productivity. Also described is the topography, wildlife, local inhabitants their culture and religion, as well as a description of major European and local towns and cities. This text makes extremely enjoyable reading and a very good insight not only into the area described but the general European attitudes towards alien countries and cultures. (Ref: Koeman; M&B; Tooley) Please note all items auctioned are genuine, we do not sell reproductions. A Certificate of Authenticity (COA) can be issued on request. Condition Report Condition Report: Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable Paper color: - Uniform age toning Age of map color: - Early Colors used: - Yellow, pink, green, blue General color appearance: - Authentic Paper size: - 22in x 18in (560mm x 460mm) Plate size: - 19in x 14 1/2in (485mm x 370mm) Margins: - Min 1in (25mm) Imperfections: Margins: - Uniform age toning Plate area: - Uniform age toning Verso: - Uniform age toning Overall Quality (in Bold ): Perfect/ Fine /Very Good/Good/Fair/Poor Gerard Mercator (Kremer) 1512-94 For nearly sixty years, during the most important and exciting period in the story of modern map making, Gerard Mercator was the supreme cartographer, his name, second only to Ptolemy, synonymous with the form of map projection still in use today. Although not the inventor of this type of projection he was the first to apply it to navigational charts in such a form that compass bearings could be plotted on charts in straight lines, thereby providing seamen with a solution to an age-old problem of navigation at sea. His influence transformed land surveying and his researches and calculations led him to break away from Ptolemy's conception of the size and outline of the Continents, drastically reducing the longitudinal length of Europe and Asia and altering the shape of the Old World as visualized in the early sixteenth century. Mercator was born in Rupelmonde in Flanders and studied in Louvain under Gemma Frisius, Dutch writer, astronomer and mathematician. He established himself there as a cartographer and instrument and globe maker, and when he was twenty-five drew and engraved his first map (of Palestine) a... read more

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