Nova Orbis Tabula in Lucem Edita. A. F. de Wit.

• Main Author: Wit, Frederik de, 1629/30-1706
• Other Authors: University of Washington Libraries. Special Collections Division.
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: Latin
• Published: Wit, Frederik de 1610-1698 1675
• Subjects: World maps > Early works to 1800; Arctic; Pacific; Antarc*; Antarctica; Spitzbergen
• Online Access: http://cdm16786.contentdm.oclc.org:80/cdm/ref/collection/maps/id/14

17th century Copper engraving handcolored with watercolor. Outline color. Printed at top within banner: "Nova Orbis Tabula, In Lucem Edita, EA. F. de Wit. Amstelodami cum Privilegio Potentiss D. Dominarum Ordinum Hollandia et Westfrisiae." Written in upper left corner: "6." Illustrates the world in two hemispheric projections and two polar projections above and below the hemispheres. Depicts California as an island and shows New Guinea as "Nova Guinea" and an area in South Pacific next to New Guinea called "Quiri Regio." Includes illustrations of classical scenes in each corner of the map representing the four seasons and referring to the elements as well as signs of the Zodiac. Cherubs appear in the spaces between the hemispheres and polar projection insets. Scale: 1:74,000,000 West 180 degrees-East 180 degrees / North 90 degrees-South 90 Degrees. Note from researcher (12/2014): Shown here is an example of the 6th state of De Wit’s second world map and can be dated to after 1697. This date comes from two details found on the map: firstly De Wits privilege that he received in 1689 (Amstelodami cum Privilegio Potentiss. D. Dominorum Ordinum Hollandiæ et Westfrisiæ.) Secondly the addition of the reference letters in the borders of the hemispheres that were added after 1690. The third detail is the dotted borders added in North America. (Examples only found in atlases that can be dated to after 1697)(Carhart: 2011) Frederik de Wit (1629/30-1706) was a major Dutch cartographer and publisher in Amsterdam. He founded his business in 1648 and produced a number of wall maps, world atlases, sea charts, and "town books" throughout the seventeenth century. In 1674, he purchased a few Blaeu map plates and later purchased some of Jannson's plates. His work was very popular and he became well-known for his attractive engraving and coloring. His works include "Atlases" (c.a. 1670), "Atlas Minor" (1670), "Zee Atlas" (1675), "Atlas Belgium" (1666-7), "Atlas Major" (1690) and "Orbis Maritimus ofte Zee Atlas" (1675) (Moreland and Bannister, 115; Tooley 670). This map was first produced between the mid-1660s and early 1670s. Shirley believes its creation dates to be early due to the "less well-developed form of Hudson's Bay, the out-date configuration of the Great Lakes and the marking of Spitzbergen in outline only" (469). In its first state, the cusps of the map were empty and there was no outer border. In the second plate used to print this map c.a. 1680, New Guinea or "Nova Guinea" and "Quiri Regio" have been added to the South Pacific in the left hemisphere (Shirley, 469). Shirley believes it be one of the "most attractive [maps] of its time" noting the balance of the "four seasons, the elements and the signs of the zodiac" within the illustrations located in the four corners of the map on either side of the smaller polar projection insets (468-9). Source(s): Moreland, Carl and David Bannister. "Antique Maps: A Collector's Handbook." New York: Longman Group, Ltd., 1983. Shirley, Rodney W. "The Mapping of the World: Early Printed World Maps 1472-1700. Riverside, CT: Early World Press Ltd., 2001. Tooley, Ronald Vere. "Tooley's Dictionary of Mapmakers." Hertfordshire: Map Collector Publications Limited, 1979.