1628 Gerard Mercator Antique Map of the Berry Province of central France

Per Geradum Mercatorem Cum Privilegio. 21in x 17in (530mm x 430mm). This original copper plate engraved antique map of the Berry Province of central France by Gerard Mercator was published by Henricus Hondius in the early 1628 French edition of Gerard Mercators Atlas. These maps, published in the early editions of Mercators atlas, are the original maps drawn and engraved by Gerald Mercator in the mid to late 16th century, published by his son Rumold as an atlas, after his death, in 1595.

Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable Paper color : - off white Age of map color: - Colors used: - General color appearance: - Paper size: - 21in x 17in (530mm x 430mm) Plate size: - 20in x 15in (510mm x 380mm) Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm). Margins: - Age toning Plate area: - Age toning Verso: - Age toning. Background: Berry is a region located in the center of France. It was a province of France until départements replaced the provinces on 4 March 1790, when Berry became divided between the départements of Cher (High Berry) and Indre (Low Berry).

The Berry region now consists of the départements of Cher, Indre and parts of Creuse. The city Bourges functioned as the capital of Berry. Berry is notable as the birthplace of several kings and other members of the French royal family, and was the birthplace of the famous knight Baldwin Chauderon, who fought in the First Crusade. In the Middle Ages, Berry became the centre of the Duchy of Berry.

It is also known for an illuminated manuscript produced in the 14th-15th century called Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry. Mercator, Gerard 1512-94 For nearly sixty years, during the most important and exciting period in the story of modern map making, Gerard Mercator was the supreme cartographer, his name, second only to Ptolemy, synonymous with the form of map projection still in use today. Although not the inventor of this type of projection he was the first to apply it to navigational charts in such a form that compass bearings could be plotted on charts in straight lines, thereby providing seamen with a solution to an age-old problem of navigation at sea. His influence transformed land surveying and his researches and calculations led him to break away from Ptolemy\\\'s conception of the size and outline of the Continents, drastically reducing the longitudinal length of Europe and Asia and altering the shape of the Old World as visualized in the early sixteenth century. Mercator was born in Rupelmonde in Flanders and studied in Louvain under Gemma Frisius, Dutch writer, astronomer and mathematician.

He established himself there as a cartographer and instrument and globe maker, and when he was twenty-five drew and engraved his first map (of Palestine) and went on to produce a map of Flanders (1540) supervising the surveying and completing the drafting and engraving himself. The excellence of his work brought him the patronage of Charles V for whom he constructed a globe, but in spite of his favor with the Emperor he was caught up in the persecution of Lutheran Protestants and charged with heresy, fortunately without serious consequences. No doubt the fear of further persecution influenced his move in 1552 to Duisburg, where he continued the production of maps, globes and instruments culminating in large-scale maps of Europe (1554), the British Isles (1564) and the famous World Map on 18 sheets drawn to his new projection (1569). All these early maps are exceedingly rare, some being known by only one copy.

In later life he devoted himself to his edition of the maps in Ptolemy\\\'s Geographia, reproduced in his own engraving as nearly as possible in their original form, and to the preparation of his 3-volume collection of maps to which, for the first time, the word \\\'Atlas\\\' was applied. The word was chosen, he wrote, \\\'to honor the Titan, Atlas, King of Mauritania, a learned philosopher, mathematician, and astronomer\\\'. The first two parts of the Atlas were published in 1585 and 1589 and the third, with the first two making a complete edition, in 1595 the year after Mercator\\\'s death. Mercator\\\'s sons and grandsons were all cartographers and made their contributions in various ways to the great atlas.

Rumold, in particular, was responsible for the complete edition in 1595. After a second complete edition in 1602, the map plates were bought in 1604 by Jodocus Hondius who, with his sons, Jodocus II and Henricus, published enlarged editions which dominated the map market for the following twenty to thirty years.

Please note all items auctioned are genuine, we do not sell reproductions. A Certificate of Authenticity (COA) can be issued on request. What is an Antique Map. The word Antique in the traditional sense refers to an item that is more than a hundred years old. The majority of antique maps for sale today come from books or atlases and have survived due to the protection offered by the hardback covers.

The first thing to determine when staring a collection or purchasing an item, is what is important to you. Most collectors prefer to build their collections around a theme. You may decide to collect maps from one region or country, charting its development through time.

The collector might also want to consider the theme of cartographical misconceptions such as California as an island or Australia as Terra Australis or the Great Southern Land. The subject is so wide that any would-be-collector has almost endless possibilities to find his own little niche within the field, and thereby build a rewarding collection. Starting a collection & pricing. Pricing is based on a number of different factors, the most important of which is regional. In any series of maps the most valuable are usually the World Map and the America/North America.

The World because it is usually the most decorative and America because it has the strongest regional market. Other factors that come into play re: price is rarity, age, size, historical importance, decorative value (colour) and overall condition and quality of paper it is printed on. As specialised dealers, we frequently work with first time map buyers who are just starting their collection.