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Atlases from a Private Swiss Collection
ROBIJN, Jacobus (1649-c.1710)
L’Atlas de la Mer, ou Monde Aquatique; representant tous les costes maritimes de l’Univers descouvertes & cogneues. Tres necessaire & commode pour tous pilotes, maistres de navire & marchands. Amsterdam: Jacques Robijn, 1681 [but 1683 or later].
Details
ROBIJN, Jacobus (1649-c.1710)
L’Atlas de la Mer, ou Monde Aquatique; representant tous les costes maritimes de l’Univers descouvertes & cogneues. Tres necessaire & commode pour tous pilotes, maistres de navire & marchands. Amsterdam: Jacques Robijn, 1681 [but 1683 or later].
Extremely rare sea atlas, seemingly unrecorded by Koeman and institutional catalogues.
The present work opens with Frederick de Wit’s magnificent double-hemisphere world map with its striking vignettes in the corners (Shirley 444), and contains 17 charts relating to Europe including the North, Baltic and Mediterranean Seas, 4 charts of the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans with fine depictions of Iceland and Greenland, 2 charts of the Indian Ocean including New Holland, 3 charts of the African coastline, and 10 of the Americas, of which 8 feature the eastern seaboard of North America, the Caribbean and California.
4 of these maps are unsigned but are by Arent Roggeveen (Burden II, 446-449 and 452), and are all in first state dating from 1675, predating Robijn's addition of his imprint to these plates in about 1680. They all relate to the east coast of America, and are of a large scale and originally included in Roggeveen’s Het Brandende Veen, published in 1675, with Robijn acquiring the plates that same year. All of these charts are rare, and it is only through their meagre survival that much is known of the mapping of the Dutch West India company. The two charts Pascaerte van Nieu Nederland … tot Staten hoeck of Cabo Cod (no. 29, ‘the first and only Dutch sea chart of Cape Cod’) and Pascaerte van Nieu Nederland streckende vande Noort Revier (no.30, ‘the first sea chart of Long island’), are both described by Burden as being ‘of legendary rarity on the open market’.
Despite the imprint on the title overslip giving a publication date of 1681, this atlas must date to 1683 when Robijn produced the chart Pascaerte van Westindien (Burden II, 573, here in first state). The majority of the charts follow the printed contents list in a slightly haphazard fashion, but 12 charts have been replaced, most notably ones the listed as covering South America have been removed and replaced with charts relating to North America. The charts have been numbered consecutively in light-blue ink by a contemporary hand, and thus it can be deduced that nos 2 (map of Europe), 32 (probably of the Americas) and 40 are missing.
The atlas contains 4 leaves of explanatory letterpress, some of which does not relate to the contents (e.g. there is a paragraph on Egypt, but no corresponding map), and the list of contents only partially matches those charts included. This probably reflects the way in which Robijn compiled his atlases, acquiring plates from others such as Pieter Goos and Arent Roggeveen, and assembling atlases as demand and availability of sheets allowed.
No copies can be traced as appearing at auction (RBH/ABSA), nor do there seem to be any in institutions (Worldcat). Koemann IV, lists Dutch, Latin, Spanish and English editions, all post-dating the present work.
Folio (545 x 315mm). 2 unpaginated bifolia collating A-B2, engraved title-page with letterpress overslip and 37 (of probably 40) engraved charts, all coloured by a contemporary hand, and numbered in ink manuscript (chart 5 some faint ink or water stains at extreme corners of map, chart 11 with small burn hole in Irish Sea, charts 16 and 27 just trimmed into bottom and fore-edges of image, chart 26 with short marginal repaired tear just touching image, a couple of fire-edges strengthened, title and letterpress loose with subsequent fraying and chipping to edges, title overslip coming loose, charts 35 to end almost detached). Contemporary vellum (the whole shaken and loose with front inner hinge broken, covers lightly soiled).
L’Atlas de la Mer, ou Monde Aquatique; representant tous les costes maritimes de l’Univers descouvertes & cogneues. Tres necessaire & commode pour tous pilotes, maistres de navire & marchands. Amsterdam: Jacques Robijn, 1681 [but 1683 or later].
Extremely rare sea atlas, seemingly unrecorded by Koeman and institutional catalogues.
The present work opens with Frederick de Wit’s magnificent double-hemisphere world map with its striking vignettes in the corners (Shirley 444), and contains 17 charts relating to Europe including the North, Baltic and Mediterranean Seas, 4 charts of the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans with fine depictions of Iceland and Greenland, 2 charts of the Indian Ocean including New Holland, 3 charts of the African coastline, and 10 of the Americas, of which 8 feature the eastern seaboard of North America, the Caribbean and California.
4 of these maps are unsigned but are by Arent Roggeveen (Burden II, 446-449 and 452), and are all in first state dating from 1675, predating Robijn's addition of his imprint to these plates in about 1680. They all relate to the east coast of America, and are of a large scale and originally included in Roggeveen’s Het Brandende Veen, published in 1675, with Robijn acquiring the plates that same year. All of these charts are rare, and it is only through their meagre survival that much is known of the mapping of the Dutch West India company. The two charts Pascaerte van Nieu Nederland … tot Staten hoeck of Cabo Cod (no. 29, ‘the first and only Dutch sea chart of Cape Cod’) and Pascaerte van Nieu Nederland streckende vande Noort Revier (no.30, ‘the first sea chart of Long island’), are both described by Burden as being ‘of legendary rarity on the open market’.
Despite the imprint on the title overslip giving a publication date of 1681, this atlas must date to 1683 when Robijn produced the chart Pascaerte van Westindien (Burden II, 573, here in first state). The majority of the charts follow the printed contents list in a slightly haphazard fashion, but 12 charts have been replaced, most notably ones the listed as covering South America have been removed and replaced with charts relating to North America. The charts have been numbered consecutively in light-blue ink by a contemporary hand, and thus it can be deduced that nos 2 (map of Europe), 32 (probably of the Americas) and 40 are missing.
The atlas contains 4 leaves of explanatory letterpress, some of which does not relate to the contents (e.g. there is a paragraph on Egypt, but no corresponding map), and the list of contents only partially matches those charts included. This probably reflects the way in which Robijn compiled his atlases, acquiring plates from others such as Pieter Goos and Arent Roggeveen, and assembling atlases as demand and availability of sheets allowed.
No copies can be traced as appearing at auction (RBH/ABSA), nor do there seem to be any in institutions (Worldcat). Koemann IV, lists Dutch, Latin, Spanish and English editions, all post-dating the present work.
Folio (545 x 315mm). 2 unpaginated bifolia collating A-B2, engraved title-page with letterpress overslip and 37 (of probably 40) engraved charts, all coloured by a contemporary hand, and numbered in ink manuscript (chart 5 some faint ink or water stains at extreme corners of map, chart 11 with small burn hole in Irish Sea, charts 16 and 27 just trimmed into bottom and fore-edges of image, chart 26 with short marginal repaired tear just touching image, a couple of fire-edges strengthened, title and letterpress loose with subsequent fraying and chipping to edges, title overslip coming loose, charts 35 to end almost detached). Contemporary vellum (the whole shaken and loose with front inner hinge broken, covers lightly soiled).
Brought to you by
Eugenio Donadoni
Senior Specialist, Medieval & Renaissance Manuscripts