Lot Essay
Van der Krogt (1993) HonIIIR, who suggests a publication date of post 1618 as the cartography copies the second state of Jodocus Hondius's (1563-1612) celestial that year. Milanesi & Schmidt note "these globes faithfully reproduce a pair by Jodocus Hondius ... with only the dedication and date altered". There is little known about Rossi, he may be related to a family of the same name publishing cartographic material in Rome from the mid-17th century. His relationship with Hondius is also unclear. If he had access to Hondius's printing plates or copied the gores himself isn't certain; his celestial globes are margnially more common, probably indicating a larger number were made (van der Krogt records seven by Rossi and five by Hondius -- not including this example) and often have the horizon rings published in Latin and Flemish (not Italian).