A 17th century map of the South Pole

HONDIUS, Henricus.

Polus Antarcticus.
Amsterdam, Jan Jansson, c.1650, German text edition. Coloured. 440 x 500mm.

A map of the South Pole to just north of the Tropic of Capricorn. It is important as one of the first maps to show the discoveries of Pieter Nuyts on the southern coast of Australia, prior to the arrival of Tasman and his discovery of Tasmania in 1642. In each of the four corners are vignettes of different races of the Southern Hemisphere.
About 1650 the plate was re-engraved to prepare for it going into the Maritime volume of Jansson's grand atlas. This second state has Jansson's name as publisher and lacks a blank dedication cartouche. In the third state the title cartouche is removed so that Tasman's discovery of New Zealand could be added.

SCHILDER: Map 44, illus.
Stock ID : 20876