Antique Map of Gallaecia Regnum by W.J. Blaeu, Paper, Circa 1640
€ 520
One of a kind: this is the sheet in the photographs. Ships from Langweer, the Netherlands.
Date
1640
Sheet size
49.6 × 58.2 cm (19.5 × 22.9 in)
Condition
Fair
Reference
BG-13430-4
Condition
Repaired: Few defects in margins and repair on folding line, large split still visible. Original/contemporary hand coloring. Age-related toning, also shows some staining. Latin text on verso, please study image carefully.
About this sheet
Antique map titled 'Gallaecia Regnum'. Original old map of the northwestern coast of Spain, extending from the Asturias de Oviedo region and Aviles in the Northeast to Bayona and the Portugese border on the South, centered on Santiago di Compostella. Major cities include Corunna, Mondonnedo, Rivadeo, Lugo, Oresn, Pontevedra, and Padron. Large decorative cartouche with coat of arms held aloft by 2 cherubs, Neptune carrying title cartouche, 3 sailing ships, one sea monster and two compass roses. Published by W.J. Blaeu, circa 1640.
Willem Janszoon Blaeu (1571-1638) was a prominent Dutch geographer and publisher. Born the son of a herring merchant, Blaeu chose not fish but mathematics and astronomy for his focus. He studied with the famous Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe, with whom he honed his instrument and globe making skills. Blaeu set up shop in Amsterdam, where he sold instruments and globes, published maps, and edited the works of intellectuals like Descartes and Hugo Grotius. In 1635, he released his atlas, Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, sive, Atlas novus.
