Atlas Maior

by Joan Blaeu, Peter Van Der Krogt (Introduction)

The ATLAS MAIOR, the cartographical masterpiece of the Baroque, was brought out in 1662 and 1665 by the Amsterdam publisher Joan Blaeu, one of Holland's leading cartographers. Originally appearing in Latin, the atlas comprised 594 maps in 11 volumes, which depicted the whole of the world as known to early modern Europe. For more than 100 years it remained the definitive atlas of the world, and today is one of the most sought-after and valuable antiquarian rarities. TASCHEN's bibliophile reprint of this costly atlas is based on the hand-colored copy with gilt highlights now in the Austrian National Library in Vienna. Alongside original quotes from Joan Blaeu relating to the individual maps, the new text by Peter van de Krogt explains the historical and cultural associations and introduces the reader to the fascinaing world of early modern cartography. This edition published by Barnes & Noble Books Inc. by arrangement with TASCHEN GmbH 2006 415 pages descriptions in English, German & Fre

Genres: History, Reference, Maps, Art History, Art, Nonfiction, Cartography

415 pages, Hardcover

Published March 5, 2006

Reviews

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

A work of art. Are the maps accurate? No. Are they informative? Since they are not accurate the answer is not really. Is there any useful information? Again, not really. But the Taschen publication is beautiful to look at and peruse. The Atlas lets you appreciate how primitive life and knowledge of the world was almost 400 years ago. With interesting text scattered throughout it gives you a hint on how people thought and the weird ways that travel and the lure of adventure resonate with the human heart.

[Lara · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely gorgeous book full of absoluetly gorgeous maps--I only wish folks still made maps as beautiful as they were back in the old days... If you're a cartography fan, you really can't pass this up. The large format version is super expensive, but I got my smaller one (still 11 x 14" and an inch and a half thick) for $30 from Barnes and Noble awhile back--infinitely worth that price. Even so, some days I'm still tempted to fork over the $200 for the fuller, larger version! Maybe one day...

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous! I love maps. Love love love them. This over-sized honker of a book would look great on a coffee table ::GASP:: OR (more importantly) be an imaginative playground for one's sense of wonder.

[pearl]

I just want to own this beautiful, beautiful book.

[Fraser Sherman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This reprint with notes of the original is fun to glance through and see how darn pretty those old maps were. It's also amazing how detailed some of them were when they get into major centers such as London or central France — somehow despite seeing many old maps reprinted over the years, I forgot that part. Obviously your rating will rise or fall depending on how much you like pretty cartography. I flipped through it and enjoyed it, but I admit didn't read most of the text.

[Daniel Zonneveld · Rating 5 out of 5]

Indescritível coleção de mapas. Maravilhoso! Um privilégio ter acesso a um documento tão abrangente e num só estilo.

[Justwinter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Damn sexy maps. What more needs to be said?

Although, now as I re-read my original 'review' I'm struck by that fact that several times a month I drive past a billboard that reads as follows:

STRIPPERS "need we say more?"

In that case, no, you probably don't need to say more. But in the case of Atlas Major, perhaps one does? I don't want to glibly summarize it in the same way one can GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS! Yet both are eye-candy...