Product Description

The finest and most comprehensive baroque atlas was Johann Blaeu's exceptional Atlas Major, completed in 1662. The original 11-volume Latin edition, containing 593 maps, put Blaeu ahead of his staunch competitor, mapmaker Johannes Janssonius, whose rivalry inspired Blaeu to produce a grandiose edition of the largest and most complete atlas to date. Covering Arctica, Europe, Africa, Asia, and America, Blaeu's Atlas Major was a remarkable achievement and remains to this day one of history's finest examples of mapmaking. This reprint is made from the National Library of Vienna's complete, colored, gold-heightened copy, thus assuring the best possible detail and quality. The book's introduction, by the University of Utrecht's Peter van der Krogt, discusses the historical and cultural context and significance of the atlas; Krogt also provides detailed descriptions of the maps, allowing modern readers to fully appreciate Blaeu's masterwork.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #136308 in Books
• Published on: 2005-08-26
• Original language: English, German, French
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 415 pages

Review
"The greatest and finest atlas ever published" Koeman I, BI 56"

About the Author
Peter van der Krogt, the leading expert on Dutch atlases, is researcher of the Explokart Research Program for the History of Cartography of the Faculty of Geosciences at the University of Utrecht. Since 1990 he has been working on the carto-bibliography of atlases published in the Netherlands, Koeman's Atlantes Neerlandici, and the compilation, in co-operation with Erlend de Groot, of an illustrated and annotated catalogue of the Atlas Blaeu-Van der Hem, the most important collector's atlas.

Customer Reviews

a treasure, a goldmine, a gem !!
I you like travel, history and maps this is for you. If you like Michelin and Ordnance Survey but would like to know about Mercator and Speed, this is for you.
Look at maps of areas you know and wonder how things have changed, be intrigued at the detail, learn from the detailed introduction, salivate at the vivid colours. The book already has given me many happy hour and is bound to give me much more pleasure in future.

The Finest Atlas Avalible
Everything about this book oozes quality. From the moment you open up the packaging, to seeing the wonderful front cover. Looking through its fabulous maps and illustrations is simply a joy.

It's complete in every way you can think of, the perfect book to really get lost in. Its a book I think deserves its place at the top of Map publishing, and anyone into maps, History, and an appreciation for fine art work, then this book definitely should be in your collection.

Every page is pure magic, and the way it is put together the quality is perfect from the binding to the paper used, to the colours, it is a first class product. Well worth the price currently on offer it's a steal.