"America Noviter Delineata", Merian, Matthaus

Subject: Western Hemisphere - America
Period: 1638 (published)
Color: Hand Color
Size: 10.9 x 14.2

Merian prepared this reduced version of his 1631 map for the German translation of Pierre d'Avity's Les Empires du Monde, and it accompanied other works of the period including Theatrum Europaeum. It is one of the many derivatives of Jodocus Hondius' map of 1618. North America is depicted with a prominent Virginia and an odd New England coastline. The western coastline above California makes the continent entirely too wide, and there is an odd, dramatic bulge around Mendocino. There is only a hint of the Great Lakes. The mythical Parime Lacus appears in equatorial South America. Greenland, Iceland, and the fictitious Frislandia are shown in a small inset map. Strapwork title cartouche, sea monsters, and Spanish galleons decorate the map. Merian's imprint is located at lower right.See also lot 824 for Philip Burden's excellent reference work, The Mapping of North America, which discusses this map.

References: Burden #251.
Condition: A
A nice impression on a bright sheet with a fleur-de-lis watermark, light printer's ink residue, and a tiny worm hole along the coast of Colombia that has been professionally infilled.