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Pub Year	Map Maker	Pub Place	Map Title	Map Price (USD)	Picture
1625	Hondius, Jodocus	Antwerp	Portvgalliae que olim Lusitania, novissima & exactissima descriptio . . .	$900	Picture

An engraved map, with original outline color

Size: 15-1/2 inches X 20 inches

Map Type: Atlas

This is a superior copy with strong engraving and vivid early color wash.

This rare map of Portugal orients North to the right.The sea is decorated with monsters and sailing ships. The top right cartouche contains the map title in Latin, while the bottom left cartouche includes a dedication to the sailors that sailed the world from Portugese ports.

Jodocus Hondius was a Flemish artist, engraver, and cartographer. He is best known for his early maps of the New World and Europe, for re-establishing the reputation of the cartography work of Gerard Mercator. He helped established Amsterdam as the center of cartography in Europe in the 17th century.

In 1604 he purchased the plates of Gerard Mercator's Atlas from Mercator's grandson. Hondius republished Mercator's work with 36 additional maps, including several which he himself had produced. Despite the addition of his own contributions, Hondius gave Mercator full credit as the author of the work, listing himself as the publisher.

In 1593 he moved to Amsterdam. After Hondius' death in 1611, his publishing work in Amsterdam was continued by his widow and two sons, Jodocus II and Henricus. Later his family formed a partnership with Jan Jansson, whose name appears on the Atlas as co-publisher after 1633. Eventually 50 editions of the Atlas were released in many different European languages. The series is sometimes called the "Mercator/Hondius/Jansson" series because of Jansson's later contributions.

References: Tooley's Dictionary of Mapmakers, Volume 2 Page 364, Hondius Jodocus, Scott, Valerie, Map Collector Publications, Tring, Hertz, England, 1999