TITLEBrasilia et Peruvia. 1593 (undated) 14 x 16.5 in (35.56 x 41.91 cm) 1 : 20800000DESCRIPTIONThis is Cornelis De Jode´s 1593 map of South America, the second, full-size map of the area to appear in an atlas, predated only by the 1578 map produced by his father, Gerard De Jode. This rare map, printed in a single edition, outstripped contemporaneous efforts by De Bry and Ortelius in terms of accuracy and beauty. The map covers from Central America and the Caribbean to embrace all of South America; beyond the Strait of Magellan Tierra del Fuego appears, not as a small island or archipelago but extending into a massive ´Terra Australis.´ The Amazon River is shown, along with the notation that its denizens practiced cannibalism (Vespucci´s sensationalistic description to this effect had long legs; note also the cannibal scene adorning Brazil.)
El Dorado?
Este é o primeiro mapa impresso da América do Sul que mostra a localização do mítico Lago El Dorado, impresso dois anos antes da expedição de Sir Walter Raleigh à Guiana em busca das reputadas riquezas fabulosas daquele lugar. O lendário lago é mostrado aqui como a nascente do Rio Paraguai, compartilhando a futura suposta localização da igualmente lendária Laguna de Xarayes, nas proximidades da vasta planície de inundação do Pantanal. Missionários e cronistas posteriores, particularmente Díaz de Guzman, imaginaram uma ilha neste lago, mas não vemos tal ilha aparecer num mapa desta região até o Hondius America de 1606. Com o tempo, o relato de Sir Walter Raleigh sobre a descoberta da Guiana (e suas garantias de que o ouro poderia ser obtido lá) se consolidaria e as representações do El Dorado seriam associadas não à nascente do Paraguai, mas ao enorme e lendário lago Parime, na Guiana, perto das cabeceiras do o rio Orinoco.
A Wealth of Descriptive DetailIn addition to the finely-engraved place names throughout the map, De Jode includes Latin descriptions of the people, (noting the seasonal attacks by Brazilian tribes on their neighbors, and the Patagonian giants encountered by Magellan´s voyage) and animals, such as the giant Hogfish (whose flesh is said to be very beneficial); the Alois, a fish without scales (which resembles something between a goose and a plesiosaur) a beast with the front part of a fox and the hind part of a monkey; and a beast that neither eats nor drinks but subsists only on wind.Richly EmbellishedCornelis understood that improved detail would be insufficient to challenge Ortelius´ place in the market, and anticipated the mapmakers of the Dutch Golden age by including in his maps an abundance of images to better show what the places his maps depicted were like. In addition to illustrations of the beasts and people described on the map, there are figures representing natives - mostly appearing to be warlike, some actively in battle with helmeted conquistadors. The settlement depicted in the region of Brazil, upon closer inspection, proves to be a cannibal scene. The sea is decorated with monsters, flying fish, native war canoes, and sailing ships - some locked in battle.Publication History and CensusThis map is rare. It was engraved for inclusion in Cornelius De Jode´s Speculum Orbis Terrae which was published in a sole edition of 1593. The map was not reprinted, the plates having been acquired from De Jode´s widow by Ortelius´ executor, Vrients, and destroyed to remove them from the market. This separate map appears in only 7 listings in OCLC. Perhaps a dozen examples of the Speculum appear in institutional collections.CARTOGRAPHERCornelis de Jode (1568 – October 17, 1600) was an Antwerp cartographer, engraver and publisher, He was the son and heir of Gerard de Jode, also a cartographer and publisher. Cornelis studied science at Academy of Douai, but it can be understood that his main education in the trade was at the hands of his father. On his father´s death in 1591, Cornelis de Jode took over the work on his father´s atlas, Speculum Orbis Terrarum. This had enjoyed publication in a single edition of 1578, overshadowed by the competition posed by Abraham Ortelius´ (1527 - 1598) Theatrum Orbis Terrrum. Cornelis published a second edition, to which he added many updated maps to bring the work up to date with its competition. Despite the improvements brought to the atlas, both aesthetic and geographic, De Jode was unable to break Ortelius´ grip on the market and there were no further editions of the atlas. After his death, the engraving plates were sold to Ortelius´ executor Johannes Baptista Vrients (1552 - 1612), who was continuing to publish the Theatrum. Vrients would utilize several decorative plates from the Speculum, but the complete work and its maps were not published again - likely they were destroyed by Vrients to keep them from competing with his editions of the i>Theatrum. More by this mapmaker...SOURCEDe Jode, Cornelis, Speculum Orbis Terrarum, (Antwerp: Arnold Coninx) 1593. Gerard De Jode (1516/17 - 1591) first issued his spectacular atlas, the Speculum Orbis Terrae, in Antwerp in 1578. The atlas was intended to compete with Abraham Ortelius´ Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, and as such, was a lavish production, beautifully engraved and compiled from the best cartography of the period. De Jode drew from such illustrious sources as G. Gastaldi, Pirro Ligorio, Alvaro Seco, Lieven Algoet, Heinrich Zell, Wolfgang Lazius, Augustin Hirsvogel, Sebastian Rotenhan, Aegidius Tschudi, Bartholomaeus Scultetus, and Caspar Vopel. Like due to his lack of political connects and general business acumen, De Jode´s Speculum never attained the widespread popularity of Ortelius´ Theatrum. When Gerard died in 1591, the firm was taken over by his son, Cornelis de Jode (1568 - 1600) and, his wife, Paschina. C. De Jode partnered with Arnold Coninx to publish a new edition of the Speculum Orbis Terrae in 1593. Cornelius died young at 32, and the De Jode stock was sold to Johannes Baptista Vrients (1552 - 1612). Vrients had earlier acquired Ortelius´s map plates and was actively republishing them. He did not similarly republish the Speculum Orbis Terrae; rather, his purchase of the De Jode plates was intended to keep them off the market. Most were destroyed at his hands, resulting in them never being reprinted and being exceptionally scarce today.CONDITIONVery good condition; one surface mend with no loss to printed image, else excellent with a bold, sharp strike.REFERENCESOCLC 633545110. Van der Krogt, P. C. J., Koeman´s Atlantes Neerlandici, (3 Vols), 9800:32B.
Map of South America and the Caribbean South America
