Mercator, Rumold (sold)
Rumold Mercator (1541 - December 31, 1599) was a Dutch cartographer, son of the famous cartographer Gerard Mercator (1512 - 1594), and the caretaker of his illustrious father's work. He began producing maps prior to his father's 1594 death, and completed much of his work that was left unfinished. He would publish, supplemented with his own maps, Gerard Mercator's incomplete Atlas in 1595. This work would include his 1587 world map, and continental maps by his nephews Gerardus Mercator junior and Michael Mercator - using the elder Mercator's world map as their source. Rumold lacked his father's genius and passion for mapmaking and under his leadership, and faced with competition from Ortelius, the firm declined until his own 1599 death. Afterwards, the Mercator map plates were acquired by Henricus Hondius II (1597 - 1651), who republished them extensively, re-establishing Mercator's position as the premier cartographer of the Dutch Golden Age.
First acquirable Mercator World Map.
Orbis Terrae Compendiosa Descriptio...
sold
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This is Gerard and Rumold Mercator's 1587 double-hemisphere map of the world, in a handsome, untrimmed example in its first atlas edition. It is the only acquirable world map directly associated with the elder Mercator (his 1578 world map depicts only Ptolemaic knowledge). The map was executed by Gerard Mercator's son, Rumold, using a novel double-hemisphere format rather than his father's famous projection. The complex mathematics used to make the Mercator Projection may well have overtaxed Rumold's abilities - although it seems likely that the elder Mercator would have at least had some role in the production of this work: he was alive when it was completed and made its appearance in the 1587 Strabo. Whatever the reason for this decision, Maps using the Mercator Projection would not appear again for many years, but even so, the elder geographer's stamp is undeniable. (more details)