Jan Jansson; 1588 - 1664.
Born in Arnhem
in a publisher's family, he married the daughter of famed
cartographer Jodocus Hondius, and soon set up his own book
making business is Amsterdam. In partnership with his brother-in-law
(Henricus Hondius) he published reprints of the Mercator atlases.
In appearance, Jansson's map are very similar to Blaeu's,
in good part since he recycled Mercator's plates acquired
by Blaeu from the Hondiuses; and also because he copied extensively
the production of his chief cartography rival.
After his death, quite a few of his plates were acquired by
Pieter Schenk and Gerald Valk, who continued printing them
till 1683. Of note:
- 1628: Atlas Minor (another remake of the 1607 Mercator's
reduced maps).
- 1638: Atlas Novus, starting with only two volumes, grew
up to six volumes , was re-edited till 1666.
- 1647: Atlas Major, produced in four different languages
till 1683.
Galliæ veteris typus.
This large map (19 ¼" X 15 3/8") is directly derived
from the 1570 map (same title) by Ortelius, based on Julius
Caesar's "De bello Gallico". This map was recycled many times
over by famous mapmakers such as Blaeu, Hondius and Jansson.
The present item seems to have been engraved around 1630 (possibly
for Jansson's 1631 "Theatrum Universal Galliae"), it was probably
printed for either the 1647 "Atlas Major", or for the 1652
"Accuratissima Orbis Antiqui Delineatio". It shows France
under Roman occupation, divided into five massive administrative
provinces: Belgica, Celtica, Aquitanica, Lugdunensis and Narbonensis;
covering present days France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts
of: Germany, Holland and Switzerland. Geographical depiction
is acceptable in most parts, safe for the course of the Rhone
River, and to a lesser extent the coast lines of both the
Cotentin and Cornwall peninsulas.
No text on verso.
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