6210. Blaeu's fine set with world map and the four continents, ca 1640, 5 maps.

BLAEU'S WORLD MAP AND THE FOUR CONTINENTS MAPS. (5 maps).
BLAEU, WILLIAM. Nova Totius Terrarum Orbis Geographica ac Hydrographica - Europa recens descripta - Africae nova descriptio - Asia noviter delineata - Americae nova tabula. Amsterdam, 1633 (Asia), 1635 (World, Africa, America) and 1644 (Europe).

Fine set of Blaeu's World map together with his four continent maps of Europe, America, Africa and Asia (see details and condition below). All maps hand-coloured and engraved with side columns surrounded by borders showing the native inhabitants of the country and city views.
The border of the world map also contains allegorical representations of the four elements and four seasons at the sides, together with vignettes of the seven wonders of the ancient world at the bottom. Engraved by J. van den Ende. All maps decorated with ships, sea monsters and wild animals such as lions, bears etc.
All framed.

Europe showing the mythical island of Frisland between Iceland and Greenland.

America - The delineation of the coast and the nomenclature on both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts are basically Spanish in origin and follow the maps of Ortelius and Wytfliet. Blaeu has added French names in Florida and along the St Lawrence river. European geographers still had no knowledge of the extent of the Mississippi. The Great Lakes were as yet unknown, although Champlain had reached Huron and had heard of the lakes from Coral Indians and had, in 1632, published his own map showing the region.

Asia - In Korea there are two towns mentioned, "Corij" in the south and "Tauxem", in the northwest approximately where Pyongyang is today.

Africa - The Nile is shown with its source in the lakes Zaire and Zaflan. Also included are various other mythical lakes and rivers including the famous Lake Sachaf of Laurent Fries. Only coastal towns are named on the Cape, with the printing covering much of the Unknown territory.

Reference: Shirley, World 255, State 4.

Willem Janszoon Blaeu (1571-1638), famous Dutch geographer and publisher. He studied with the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe, and later set up his printing shop in Amsterdam, where he sold instruments and globes, published maps, and edited the works of intellectuals like Descartes and Hugo Grotius. His atlas "Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, sive, Atlas novus", was published in 1635.