1585 Mercator Map of Switzerland

Modeling the Mapping of Switzerland for Two Centuries

This is Gerard Mercator's 1585 map of Switzerland, the second map of the Confederation to appear in a modern atlas. It sharply improves upon its precursor, by Ortelius, both in overall delineation and detail.

A Closer Look

The northern-oriented map covers Switzerland from the northern parts of Italy (inclusive of the Lago di Garda) up to the Boden Zee and the Upper Rhine; the western part of the map abuts on France, and a glimpse of southern Germany appears at the upper right. The mountainous terrain is indicated pictorially and is boldly engraved. The waters of the lakes are shown with stippling: the flow of the Rhine through the Bodensee is shown with waves, making it distinct from the rest of the lake.

Improving the Field

Concurrently to producing this map, Mercator also composed a larger map of Switzerland on four sheets. It does not appear to have survived as a wall map: three of its individual sheets accompanied the present work in the Mercator atlas. But its cartouche sheet does survive in the Universitatsbibliothek Tuebingen, revealing a Latin dedication:

To Abraham Ortelius, the royal cosmographer, for his cleverness, humanity, and candid memory, consecrated in perpetual friendship by Gerardus Mercator.

This can only be interpreted as a gentle ribbing, as Mercator knew his map to be markedly superior to his friend's. Ortelius' map, and indeed all maps of Switzerland prior to Mercator's, was based on the 1528 cartography of the Swiss historian Aegidius Tschudi (1505 - 1572). Mercator started from the same point but corrected the significant latitudinal distortion (28°) that characterized Tschudi-based maps. He, moreover, had access to more detailed, modern sources. Notably, the 1566 map of the Zurich area by Jos Murer (1530 - 1580) and the 1578 map of the Canton of Bern, attributed to Thomas Schöpf (1520 - 1577). While the individual sheets of the wall map reveal far more detail than could be engraved on a single sheet of the whole of Switzerland, even the present single-sheet map proved markedly superior to the Ortelius/Tschudi map. The longevity of Mercator's map is a testament to this: it remained the standard for Swiss cartography for the next two centuries.

Publication History and Census

This is among the earliest of Mercator's modern maps: he engraved this map in 1585 for inclusion in his Tabulae Geographicae Galliae, Belgii Inferioris et Germaniae. His heirs included it in his posthumous 1595 Atlas and it remained in the Mercator/Hondius atlases until its replacement in 1638. This example conforms typographically to the 1623 Latin text edition of the Hondius atlas. In its many editions, the map is 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...

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) 1623.    

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. Else excellent with generous margins.

References

OCLC 159849561 (1628) Rumsey 10554.038.