Three and a half centuries before Google Maps there was…
Joan Blaeu’s atlas, the finest ever published

The finest and most comprehensive baroque atlas was Joan Blaeu’s exceptionalAtlas Maior, completed in 1665. The original 11-volume Latin edition, containing 536 maps, put Blaeu ahead of his staunch competitor, mapmaker Johannes Janssonius, whose rivalry inspired Blaeu to produce a grandiose edition of the largest and most complete atlas to date. Covering Arctica, Europe, Africa, Asia, and America, Blaeu’sAtlas Maior was a remarkable achievement and remains to this day one of history’s finest examples of mapmaking.

This reprint is made from the National Library of Vienna’s complete, colored, gold-heightened copy, thus assuring the best possible detail and quality. The book’s introduction, by the University of Utrecht’sPeter van der Krogt, discusses the historical and cultural context and significance of the atlas; Krogt also provides detailed descriptions of the maps, allowing modern readers to fully appreciate Blaeu’s masterwork.

Text in English, French, and German