Details
BARENTSZ, Willem (c.1550-1597). Deliniatio cartae trium navigationum per Batavos, ad Septentrionalem plagam, Norvegiae, Moscoviae, et novae Semblae. [Amsterdam:] Cornelis Claesz, 1598.
'The most important map of the far northern regions ... [and] the first to show Spitzbergen' (Ginsberg). Willem Barentsz made three voyages to the Arctic Ocean. During the first voyage of 1594, he reached the western shores of Novaya Zemlya, and his co-explorer, Jan Huygen van Linschoten, actually managed to enter the Kara Sea at the beginning of August, which was unusually free of ice that year. The second voyage of 1595 was launched on a much grander scale, with the vision of completing the North-East passage, and included 7 ships loaded with merchandise destined for China. However, this time the approach to was impassable due to ice, and the fleet turned south, landing at Pechora Bay (Pechorskaya Guba). In 1596 Barentsz undertook a third voyage, the outbound track of which is shown on this map. Barentsz discovered Spitzbergen, and decided to try to enter the Kara Sea by sailing north of Novaya Zemlya. This fateful decision led to the expedition being trapped in the ice and forcing the party to overwinter in a dwelling constructed of salvaged ship's timbers that they named 'Het Behouden Huys' (the safe house), which is shown on the map. In mid-June 1597, the weather permitted the 15 survivors to make their return in open boats along the shores of Novaya Zemlya. Barentsz, already ill, died during the return journey on 20 June. The remains of the hut were discovered in 1871, further relics recovered in 1876, and excavations undertaken in 1993 and 1995; Barentsz' grave remains undiscovered. The detail of the expedition is in the main derived from the journal kept by the ship's carpenter, Gerrit de Veer. Published by Cornelis Claesz in 1598 under the title Waerachtige beschryvinghe van drie seylagien, it was accompanied by 30 copperplate illustrations; this map was published separately. Ginsberg PSMA 46; Howgego B23; New Hollstein Van Doetecum IV, 983; Schilder Monumenta Cartographica Neerlandica VII, pp.163-182.
Double-page engraved map by Baptista van Doetecum, verso blank, within engraved border and decorated with 34 illustrations of sea monsters, ships and whales, incorporating the imaginary island of Frisland, an island named Polus Magnetis, and part of the North American continent labelled Estotiland, 3 compass roses, 3 cartouches within elaborate borders, paper with watermark of crossed arrows 90mm in length, 420 x 569mm (plate mark).
'The most important map of the far northern regions ... [and] the first to show Spitzbergen' (Ginsberg). Willem Barentsz made three voyages to the Arctic Ocean. During the first voyage of 1594, he reached the western shores of Novaya Zemlya, and his co-explorer, Jan Huygen van Linschoten, actually managed to enter the Kara Sea at the beginning of August, which was unusually free of ice that year. The second voyage of 1595 was launched on a much grander scale, with the vision of completing the North-East passage, and included 7 ships loaded with merchandise destined for China. However, this time the approach to was impassable due to ice, and the fleet turned south, landing at Pechora Bay (Pechorskaya Guba). In 1596 Barentsz undertook a third voyage, the outbound track of which is shown on this map. Barentsz discovered Spitzbergen, and decided to try to enter the Kara Sea by sailing north of Novaya Zemlya. This fateful decision led to the expedition being trapped in the ice and forcing the party to overwinter in a dwelling constructed of salvaged ship's timbers that they named 'Het Behouden Huys' (the safe house), which is shown on the map. In mid-June 1597, the weather permitted the 15 survivors to make their return in open boats along the shores of Novaya Zemlya. Barentsz, already ill, died during the return journey on 20 June. The remains of the hut were discovered in 1871, further relics recovered in 1876, and excavations undertaken in 1993 and 1995; Barentsz' grave remains undiscovered. The detail of the expedition is in the main derived from the journal kept by the ship's carpenter, Gerrit de Veer. Published by Cornelis Claesz in 1598 under the title Waerachtige beschryvinghe van drie seylagien, it was accompanied by 30 copperplate illustrations; this map was published separately. Ginsberg PSMA 46; Howgego B23; New Hollstein Van Doetecum IV, 983; Schilder Monumenta Cartographica Neerlandica VII, pp.163-182.
Double-page engraved map by Baptista van Doetecum, verso blank, within engraved border and decorated with 34 illustrations of sea monsters, ships and whales, incorporating the imaginary island of Frisland, an island named Polus Magnetis, and part of the North American continent labelled Estotiland, 3 compass roses, 3 cartouches within elaborate borders, paper with watermark of crossed arrows 90mm in length, 420 x 569mm (plate mark).
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