1585 / 1618 Gerard Mercator Map of the Bernese Oberland, Switzerland

Earliest Detailed Mapping of the Bernese Alps.

This is Gerard Mercator's 1585 map of the Bernese Oberland and the Lake District of central Switzerland, in a warmly-colored Hondius edition. It is the earliest acquirable map to detail this specific region and is the earliest derivative of Thomas Schöpf's groundbreaking 1578 map of the Canton of Bern. It is the only acquirable early map of the Bernese Alps to name multiple peaks.

A Closer Look

This evocative, northern-oriented map covers the eastern reaches of the Canton of Bern, and most of the Canton of Luzern. The southern part of the Canton of Aargau appears in the north. The Rhone River valley is visible in the south; the map extends as far north as Lake Sempach, Lake Zug, and Lake Zurich. The Alps, dominating the southern half of the map, are vigorously and pictorially depicted.

There is no better early map for the Bernese Alps: no map prior to Mercator's (barring the Schöpf) would provide the names of so many of the region's famous peaks. Among the perhaps 25 mountains noted are the Eiger and the Jungfrau. Between the Thunerzee and the Brientzerzee, Interlaken can be seen (misspelled Interlappen, an oddity preserved from Schöpf).

The Source

To map the mountainous regions of this map from Bern to the south, Mercator had a superb, modern source upon which to rely: the 1578 Schöpfkarte, a monumental (and absolutely unacquirable) wall map of the Canton of Bern. Attributed to prominent Berne physician Thomas Schöpf (1520 - 1577), the map was at least in part the work of Bernese politician and diplomat Niklaus Zurkinden (October 31, 1506 - September 20, 1588). Produced in Schöpf's name, the map was printed posthumously in 1578 with the approval of the Bern city council. Upon seeing the printed map, the council found it so revealing and detailed that it terrified them: what if it should fall into the hands of Bern's enemies? Printing was immediately halted, and the plates were sequestered in the basement of Bern's city hall. Nevertheless, a copy found its way to Mercator, who incorporated it into his maps of Switzerland, ensuring that the Schöpfkarte's secrets would be disseminated all over Europe.

Publication History and Census

This map was engraved by Gerard Mercator both as part of a four-sheet wall map of Switzerland, and was among the three main sheets of that map, which were also included in Mercator's 1585 Galliae tabule geographicae. The plates for the whole work were later purchased by Jodocus Hondius, who continued to use them as the basis for his own atlases, gradually adding his own plates to the work. This present map is a first state, and the verso is typographically consistent with the 1618 French edition of the Hondius atlas. Examples appear on the market from time to time, and the map is reasonably well represented in institutional collections.

Cartographers

Gerard Mercator (March 5, 1512 - December 2, 1594) is a seminal figure in the history of cartography. Mercator was born near Antwerp as Gerard de Cremere in Rupelmonde. He studied Latin, mathematics, and religion in Rupelmonde before his Uncle, Gisbert, a priest, arranged for him to be sent to Hertogenbosch to study under the Brothers of the Common Life. There he was taught by the celebrated Dutch humanist Georgius Macropedius (Joris van Lanckvelt; April 1487 - July 1558). It was there that he changed him name, adapting the Latin term for 'Merchant', that is 'Mercator'. He went on to study at the University of Louvain. After some time, he left Louvain to travel extensively, but returned in 1534 to study mathematics under Gemma Frisius (1508 - 1555). He produced his first world map in 1538 - notable as being the first to represent North America stretching from the Arctic to the southern polar regions. This impressive work earned him the patronage of the Emperor Charles V, for whom along with Van der Heyden and Gemma Frisius, he constructed a terrestrial globe. He then produced an important 1541 globe - the first to offer rhumb lines. Despite growing fame and imperial patronage, Mercator was accused of heresy and in 1552. His accusations were partially due to his Protestant faith, and partly due to his travels, which aroused suspicion. After being released from prison with the support of the University of Louvain, he resumed his cartographic work. It was during this period that he became a close fried to English polymath John Dee (1527 - 1609), who arrived in Louvain in 1548, and with whom Mercator maintained a lifelong correspondence. In 1552, Mercator set himself up as a cartographer in Duisburg and began work on his revised edition of Ptolemy's Geographia. He also taught mathematics in Duisburg from 1559 to 1562. In 1564, he became the Court Cosmographer to Duke Wilhelm of Cleve. During this period, he began to perfect the novel projection for which he is best remembered. The 'Mercator Projection' was first used in 1569 for a massive world map on 18 sheets. On May 5, 1590 Mercator had a stroke which left him paralyzed on his left side. He slowly recovered but suffered frustration at his inability to continue making maps. By 1592, he recovered enough that he was able to work again but by that time he was losing his vision. He had a second stroke near the end of 1593, after which he briefly lost speech. He recovered some power of speech before a third stroke marked his end. Following Mercator's death his descendants, particularly his youngest son Rumold (1541 - December 31, 1599) completed many of his maps and in 1595, published his Atlas. Nonetheless, lacking their father's drive and genius, the firm but languished under heavy competition from Abraham Ortelius. It was not until Mercator's plates were purchased and republished (Mercator / Hondius) by Henricus Hondius II (1597 - 1651) and Jan Jansson (1588 - 1664) that his position as the preeminent cartographer of the age was re-established.   Further Details...

Thomas Schöpf (1520 - June 16, 1577) was a Swiss physician, to whom was credited one of the most important regional maps of Switzerland to be produced in the 16th century, named the Schöpfkarte. He was educated at the University of Basel, then in Wittenberg, receiving a doctorate in 1547. He studied medicine in Basel and received a doctorate in medicine in 1553. He served as city physician in Colmar, and in 1564 was appointed city Physician in Bern. He died of the plague in 1577. Schöpf was long considered the author of a handwritten description of the Bern region, as well as a meticulously detailed wall map of the Bernese territory. Schöpf's authorship is contested. He was named as the author of a 1577 handwritten description of the region (from which the map may have been derived, or vice versa) archival research by Anne-Marie Dubler has suggested that the prominent physician Schöpf lent his name to the production of the map but that its actual author was Bernese politician and diplomat Niklaus Zurkinden (October 31, 1506 - September 20, 1588) Zurkinden's expertise and access to data certainly makes him in many respects a more credible creator than Schöpf, but the physician's role as a aegis for the project was so successful at obscuring Zurkinden's role in producing the map that it is difficult to make the case stick.   Further Details...

Jodocus Hondius (October, 14 1563 - February 12, 1612) was an important Dutch cartographer active in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. His common name, Jodocus Hondius, is actually a Latinized version of his Dutch name, Joost de Hondt. He is also sometimes referred to as Jodocus Hondius the Elder to distinguish him from his sons. Hondius was a Flemish artist, engraver, and cartographer. He is best known for his early maps of the New World and Europe, for re-establishing the reputation of Gerard Mercator, and for his portraits of Francis Drake. Hondius was born and raised in Ghent. In his early years, he established himself as an engraver, instrument maker, and globe maker. In 1584, he moved to London to escape religious difficulties in Flanders. During his stay in England, Hondius was instrumental in publicizing the work of Francis Drake, who had circumnavigated the world in the late 1570s. In particular, in 1589, Hondius produced a now-famous map of the cove of New Albion, where Drake briefly established a settlement on the west coast of North America. Hondius' map was based on journals and eyewitness accounts of the trip and has long fueled speculation about the precise location of Drake's landing, which historians have not yet firmly established. Hondius is also thought to be the artist of several well-known portraits of Drake, now in the National Portrait Gallery in London. In 1593, Hondius returned to Amsterdam, where he remained until his death. In 1604, he purchased the plates of Gerard Mercator's Atlas from Mercator's grandson. Mercator's work had languished in comparison to Ortelius' rival atlas, Theatrum Orbis Terrarum. Hondius republished Mercator's work, adding 36 additional maps, including several he himself produced. Despite adding his own contributions, Hondius, recognizing the prestige of Mercator's name, gave Mercator full credit as the author, listing himself as the publisher. Hondius's new edition of Mercator revived the great cartographer's reputation and was a great success, selling out after a year. Hondius later published a second edition, as well as a pocket version called the Atlas Minor. The maps have since become known as the 'Mercator/Hondius series'. Between 1605 and 1610, Hondius was employed by John Speed to engrave the plates for Speed's The Theatre of the Empire of Great Britaine. Following Hondius' death in 1612, his publishing work in Amsterdam was continued by his widow and two sons, Jodocus II and Henricus. Later, his family formed a partnership with Jan Jansson, whose name appears on the Atlasas co-publisher after 1633. Starting with the 1606 Latin edition, about 50 editions of the Atlas were published in the main European languages. In the Islamic world, the atlas was partially translated by the Turkish scholar Katip Çelebi. The series is sometimes called the 'Mercator/Hondius/Jansson' series because of Jansson's later contributions. Hondius is credited with several important cartographic innovations, including the introduction of decorative map borders and contributions to the evolution of 17th-century Dutch wall maps. Hondius's work was essential to Amsterdam's establishment as the center of cartography in Europe in the 17th century.   Further Details...

Source

Hondius, J., Gerardi Mercatoris Atlas sive Cosmographicae Meditationes de Fabrica Mundi et Fabricati Figura, (Amsterdam: Hondius) 1618.    

Gerard Mercator's Atlas is one of the most important works in the history of cartography. Although competitor Ortelius was the first to publish a proper 'atlas', the Teatrum Orbis Terrarum, Mercator's work the first book to employ the term Atlas for a collection of maps. The term is derived both from the mythical titan, Atlas, who was forced to bear the world upon his shoulders, and the Libyan king, philosopher, and astronomer of the same name who, so the legend goes, constructed the first globe. Mercator dedicated the final 25 years of his life to compiling the Atlas. He published two parts during his lifetime in 1585 and 1589, but the final part was published posthumously by his son Rumold Mercator in 1595. The map plates for the Atlas were later acquired by Jodocus Hondius, who published the most complete and well-known edition in 1606. It was Jodocus who popularized the Atlas and who did the most to elevate Gerard Mercator's name.

Condition

Very good. Evenly toned. Original hand color.

References

Van der Krogt, P. C. J., Koeman's Atlantes Neerlandici, (3 Vols), 4930 1A.1.