Mercator. America sive India Nova ad magnae Gerardi Mercatoris avi universalis imitationem incompendium redacta. Per Michaelem Mercatorem, Duysburgensem. Flanders, c. 1613-1630. Copper engraving, hand-colored, 14½ x 18". Matted to 25 x 36½". Beautiful map of the Western Hemisphere, surrounded by four roundels containing the map's title (lower right) and three insets of individual areas of North America: the western shores of the Gulf of Mexico, Cuba and Florida, and Hispaniola and Puerto Rico. This Latin edition is the only map known to have been made by Michael Mercator, grandson of Gerardus Mercator. The depiction of a Northwest Passage illustrates the contemporary belief that a direct route to the East existed. Michael Mercator (c.1567-1600), belonged to arguably the most famous family of mapmakers. Jodocus Hondius bought Mercator's plates in 1604 and continued to issue this map. (Burden 87).
Estimated Value $3,000 - 5,000.
The Hunter Collection of Antique Maps
