Terrestrial and Celestial Globes Volume 2 / Their History and Construction Including a Consideration of their Value as Aids in the Study of Geography and Astronomy

by Edward Luther Stevenson

Globes and Globe Makers of the Early Seventeenth Century. The Dutch Scientific Masters and Their Preëminent Leadership

The shifting of globe making interest to the northwest of Europe at the close of the sixteenth century.—The Van Langrens as leaders.—Jodocus Hondius and his son Henricus.—Willem Jansz. Blaeu and his sons, John and Cornelius.—The Ferreri armillary sphere.—Globes of Peter Plancius.—Isaac Habrecht.—Globes of Mattheus Greuter and their reproduction by Rossi.—Manfredus Settàla.—Abraham Goos.—Adam Heroldt.

AS the first post-Columbian century came to its close the center of interest in great transoceanic exploration and discovery shifted to the northwest of Europe, to England, and to the Netherlands. Since expeditions were daily setting sail to all shores of the world, “Quoniam in omnes mundi plagas quotidie magis magisque navigatur,” quoting the word of the enthusiastic Hondius, the chart and globe makers found their services in great demand, globes both terrestrial and celestial being still regarded as essential to a navigator’s complete outfit of sailing instruments. The quick-witted Netherlanders, with well-developed business instincts, engravers, printers, map and globe makers, set to work to correct the old and to construct new “seamen’s cards” to serve the seafarers in their enterprises, and it was not long after entering this field of scientific endeavor that leadership by them was clearly attained.

Although of Danish origin, perhaps logically the Van Langren family should have had first consideration in this chapter, since father and sons came to be loyal supporters of their new homeland’s interests, and it was in the Netherlands where were laid the scenes of their activities in the field here under consideration. Chronologically, however, they had place in the preceding chapter because their work as globe makers began in the early eighties of the sixteenth century. They, at least, be it said to their credit, led the way, achieving some of their highest successes in the early seventeenth century. This, too, was the time when the Hondius, the Blaeu, the Jansson, and the Goos families came to the front to contribute their part, in a very distinguished manner, toward the promotion of the work so ably begun by their contemporary, Jacobus Florentius van Langren.

Jodocus Hondius (1567-1611) was a native of Wacken (Fig. [60]).[1] To this village his parents, shortly before his birth, had fled from Ghent to escape the persecuting hand of Count Egmont. The father, Oliver de Hondt, a modest teacher but a man very learned in theology, had embraced the reformed faith and therefore became an outlaw by decree of the government. On the arrest of Egmont, he with his family returned to Ghent, to remain but a short time, for in the year 1569 we find a residence had been taken up at Duffel near Antwerp. In this city two children were born, a daughter whose name is now unknown and a son Henry, usually referred to as Henry the Elder.

Jodocus at an early age gave evidence of possessing very remarkable talent for designing and engraving. We are told that at the age of eight he began to apply himself to the art of portraiture, of ivory carving, and of copper engraving, and that his father, noting the exhibition of special talent in the son, placed him as an apprentice with an engraver and sculptor in Antwerp. During this period of apprenticeship he carried on his studies of the fine arts, also of Latin, Greek, and mathematics, under the direction of his father, at the same time applying himself to the work of map engraving. It probably was about the year 1585 that he went to England, where, by reason of the talent he exhibited, he found employment with the English geographers, Richard Hakluyt and Edward Wright, during which period he appears to have engraved and printed a small world map in hemispheres. In the year 1592 he returned to Amsterdam, where he established himself as an engraver and printer, turning his attention especially to the issue of geographical maps.[2] Among his friends he numbered the men most prominent in his field, notably Petrus Bertius, very learned as a geographer, and Petrus Montanus.[3] It appears to have been Bertius who informed him of the intention of the heirs of Mercator to dispose of that illustrious geographer’s engraving and printing establishment, and who perhaps negotiated the sale of the same. At any rate, we find that in the year 1604 Jodocus Hondius came into possession of the Mercator copper plates of the Ptolemy maps, and at the same time he seems also to have acquired the greater part of the edition of Mercator’s ‘Atlas’ of 1602 then remaining unsold. In the year 1605 Hondius prepared and issued a third edition of the Ptolemy maps; in 1606 he issued a third edition of Mercator’s ‘Atlas’; in 1608 he published a fourth edition; in 1609 and in 1610 other editions.[4] It must have been in the year 1611 that he issued his great world map in two hemispheres, bearing the title “Novissima ac exactissima totius orbis terrarum descriptio magna cura & industria ex optimis quibusque tabulis Geographicis et Hydrographicis nuperrimisque doctorum virorum observationibus duobus planisphaerijs delineata. Auct. I. Hondio.” This work has been recently issued in a superb facsimile of the only known extant original copy, now in the possession of Prince Maximilian of Waldburg zu Wolfegg-Waldsee.[5] Of such superior excellence is the work of Hondius, as exhibited in this masterpiece, that it justly entitles him to first place among those who, up to this date, had undertaken to construct world maps.

It seems to have been early in his career as engraver and printer that he prepared his first globe gores and issued his first celestial globe. The director of the Germanisches Nationalmuseum of Nürnberg, in courteous communication, reports that in the rich collection of that institution there is a Hondius globe of the year 1592, which date, if accurately read, makes this to be the only known copy of what must be taken as his first issue. The map is a colored copper engraving covering a ball of wood having a diameter of 60 cm. The mounting of the globe, which clearly is the original, consists of the usual circles, resting upon six wooden support columns. A more detailed description of this particular example it has not been possible to obtain.[6]

Not until the year 1600 does there appear to have been a second issue of his globes. Of this second issue a remarkably fine pair (Figs. [88], [89]) was recently acquired by Mr. Henry E. Huntington of New York City.[7] Excepting very slight damage to the celestial globe in the north polar region, they may be said to be in practically as fine condition as they were when first given out from the master’s workshop. Their complete history has not been obtainable, but so remarkably well preserved are they that it seems quite probable they have been kept through all these years in the library case of some rich Italian treasure-loving family. There cannot be the slightest doubt of their age, certainly none of the age of the spheres themselves, but the exact date of the bronze mounting, though clearly in the style of certain Italian workmanship of the period, is less easy to determine. These globes have a diameter of about 34 cm. and an entire height, including the base, of 73 cm. The spheres on which have been pasted the twelve engraved gores are of papier-mâché, over which is a covering of plaster and a coating of thick varnish or shellac giving a smooth surface for the terrestrial and the celestial maps. To each, color was artistically applied by hand, which still retains a richness of tone. Each is supplied with a bronze meridian and horizon circle and with an hour circle attached in the accustomed manner at the north pole. These circles are appropriately graduated, the horizon circle having, in addition to its graduation into three hundred and sixty degrees, a series of concentric circles engraved, counting from the outermost, with the names of the winds, compass directions in the Dutch language, the names of the months, and the signs of the zodiac. Each sphere with its circles is carried on a base composed of three artistically designed and engraved bronze supports, these being attached at their lower extremities by an appropriately designed plate, and in this plate has been set a compass, still apparently in perfect condition, the dial face of this compass having a diameter of 8 cm. Aside from their scientific value for the student of geography and of astronomy, these are fit pieces to adorn the library shelves of a prince among American book collectors, as they must, in keeping with the custom of the time, have once adorned the shelves of an Italian patrician book lover.

Fig. 88. Terrestrial Globe of Jodocus Hondius, 1600.

Fig. 89. Celestial Globe of Jodocus Hondius, 1600.

The terrestrial globe has the following dedication: “Illustrissimo Principi D^o Mauritio à Nassau, Principi Auraico, Comiti à Nassau, etc. Gubernatori Provinciarum Foederatarū Summoque Praefecto mari Inferioris Germaniae Domino suo colendissimo. Jod. Hondius Flander L. M. D. D. Cum privilegio decem annorum.” “To the illustrious Prince D. Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange, Knight of Nassau, etc. Governor of the Federated Provinces and High Prefect of the Lower German Ocean, his Most Worshipful Master, Jodocus Hondius dedicates (this globe). With privilege for ten years.” This dedication is placed within an artistic cartouch (Fig. [90]) which is surmounted with the coat of arms of the Princes of Nassau, to which appropriate colors have been added. To the left of the above is an address to the reader: “Iod. Hond. Lectori S. P. Quoniam crebriores in omnes mundi partes quotidie navigationes instituūus ejusdem certius perspicitur atque innotescit; nemini idcirco mirum spero visum iri, si haec nostri globi descriptio ab aliis antehac in lucem editis plurimū discrepet. Quin uti par est, nostrae diligentiae et curae favebit, qua recens patefacta et cognita, qua directiones, latitudines et similia cōgruenter distincta suis locis habentur. Quod ipsum in ducendis lineis Directorii fecimus et peritis cumulate satisfactum confidimus. Postremo lectorē benev. rogam⁹ ut si quam loci alicujis pleniorem notitiam habeat eandem nobiscū, provehēdi boni publici gratia, lubens comunicet. vale.” “Hondius to the reader greeting. Inasmuch as frequent voyages into all parts of the world are undertaken every day, whereby the several locations (of places) are more certainly seen and are made known, I hope therefore no one will be surprised to find this delineation on our globe very different from that on most others previously issued. But who, as is right, will not prefer our diligence and care, whereby recently discovered and known lands, and whereby directions, latitudes, and such like are all properly distinguished and are to be found in their places. What we have done in drawing the lines of direction, we trust will be satisfactory on the whole to experts. Finally, we ask the kind reader that, if he has fuller knowledge of any place, that of his own free will he will communicate the same to us, to the end of advancing the public welfare. Farewell.” Within the Arctic circle and north of North America is the title and date legend reading “Globus Terrestris de integri revisus & emendatus an. 1600.” “Globe of the entire earth revised and corrected in the year 1600.” To the right of the dedicatory legend we find instruction given as to the method of finding the direction from one place to another, of which one may be desirous of having knowledge; it reads: “Modus investigandi locorū directionē. Duorum locorum in hoc globo quorum directionem scire cupis hoc est in quam coeli partem alter ab altero vergat, primo longitudinis et latitudinis differentiam notabis, qua cognita vertas globum donec Rhumbus aliquis intersecet meridianum in latitudinē primi loci, deinde volvas versus Ortum aut Occasum, prout res postulat, donec gradus aequatoris numero aequales differentiae longitudinis duorū locorum meridianum pertranseant postea vide num assūptus Rhumbus intersecet meridianum in latitudine loci. Quod si fecerit hic est horum locorū Rhumbus sive linea directionem indicans: sin secus, alius assumendus est, usque dum occurrat qui hoc praestiterit. Subjecimus scalam longitudinum.” “Of two places on this globe whose direction from one another you are desirous of knowing, that is in what part of the heavens the one diverges from the other, first of all note the difference of latitude and longitude. This ascertained turn the globe until some one rhumb cuts the meridian in the latitude of the first place, then turn to the east or to the west as is required, until the degrees of the equator through which the meridians of the places pass equal in number the difference in longitude of the two places. Then note whether the selected rhumb cuts the meridian in the latitude of the place. If it does so then this is the rhumb of these places or the line which shows the required direction: but if it does not then another rhumb must be chosen until the condition is satisfied. We subjoin a scale of longitudes.” Other legends, describing briefly some event in the history of discovery, or describing briefly the characteristic features of some locality, are exceedingly numerous. As a record of the geographical knowledge of the time, this Hondius terrestrial globe map may justly be referred to as one of the most valuable of the period.

Fig. 90. Dedication Appearing on Globe of Jodocus Hondius, 1600.

For astronomical study the celestial globe is none the less valuable and interesting than is the terrestrial for the study of geography. Its descriptive title reads: “Globus coelestis. In quo Stellae fixae omnes quae a N. viro Tycone Brahe sūma industria ac cura observatae sunt accuratissime designantur: nec non ea quae a peritis. nauclero Petro Theodori. Mateseos studioso annotatae sunt.” “Celestial globe, in which all of the fixed stars which were observed by the illustrious Tycho Brahe, with great care and industry, are most accurately shown for the scientific student: also those which were noted by the distinguished navigator Peter Theodorus.” The dedication differs somewhat from that on the terrestrial globe and reads: “Clarissimis Belgii luminibus sapientiae doctrinae et verae pietatis officinis Academiae Lugdunensis Batavorum et Francveriensis. Hos globos ad Mathematicas artes promovendas manu propria à se caelatas luculentissime dedicat consacratque Jodocus Hondius ann. 1600.” “To the most renowned lights of Belgium, fountains of wisdom, of doctrine and of true piety, of the Academy of Leiden and of Frankfurt these globes, for the promotion of the mathematical arts and constructed with his own hands, are dedicated and consecrated by Jodocus Hondius in the year 1600.” The several constellations are artistically represented in appropriate figures which include, in addition to those of Ptolemy, a considerable number in the southern hemisphere, for which, as the author states, he made use of the observations of the navigator Theodorus. That star in the constellation Cassiopeia, which so greatly interested Tycho Brahe, has a special but brief legend distinguishing it, reading “Stella mirabilis quae insolito prae aliis fulgore a^o 1572 p. an. et trientem apparuit.” “Remarkable star which appeared with brightness beyond all others in the year 1572 and for a year and one third.”

A second pair of Hondius’ globes of the year 1600 is reported as belonging to Count Rocco Giannini of Lucca. Fiorini says of them that they have mountings of bronze, resembling in this respect the pair described above, but he adds that they are without inscriptions of special note.[8] Either the information which he received concerning them was inaccurate or there exists a very marked difference between these pairs, the only ones it has been possible to locate.

In the year 1601 Hondius issued a pair of globes which were somewhat smaller than the preceding, each having a diameter of 21 cm. The inscription on the celestial globe, in which appears the date of construction, differs but little from that appearing on the issue of the year 1600; it reads: “Globus coelestis in quo fixae omnes quae a N. viro Thicone Brahe sum̄a cura observatae sunt, accuratissime designantur quibus adjuncta sunt circa Pol. Australe stel. quae a pertissimo nauclero Petro Theodori. annotatae sunt simul accomodatae ad annum 1600. editus vero 1601.” “Celestial globe in which all the fixed stars which were observed with the utmost care by the illustrious Tycho Brahe and accurately noted, to which are added the stars around the south pole which were observed by the skilful navigator Peter Theodorus. Adapted to the year 1600, but edited in the year 1601.” The general design of the figures of the several constellations agrees with that of the first edition, the chief difference lying merely in the matter of size.

On the terrestrial globe is the following dedication: “Serenissimis Principibus Alberto et Isabellae Cla. austriacis Brabantiae Ducibus. Jodo. Hondius. auctor et Joan Baptista Vriendt. Antuerpiae.” “To the Most Serene Rulers Albert and Isabella, the renowned Princes of Austrian Brabant, Jodocus Hondius author and John Baptist Veen (dedicate this globe). Antwerp.”

The author has added a rather lengthy address to the reader, in which is interesting reference to the difficult problem of determining the longitude of places.[9] “Hondius Lectori S. In locorum longitudine hactenus mirifice peccatum esse hydrographiae peritis satis constat: Regiones enim fere omnes descriptae sunt prout naucleri in suis navigationibus directionem duorum locorum ab uno loco ad alterum invenerunt, idque nulla habita ratione loci tertii, vel deviationis acus nauticae, vel etiam directorii nautici, quo indifferenter utuntur, quamvis in uno non aeque ac in alio chalyben ille acus ponatur, et a vero septentrione magis vel minus divertatur, pro uso loci in quo directoria fabbricata sunt, unde necessario longitudo locorum distorta est. Multi hos errores frustra conati sunt emendare per polares stellas, alii per Lunae cursum, alii certius per eclipses. Verum hoc opus, ille labor. Quis enim in tanta locorum multitudine eclipses observabit? At cum jam tandem per variationem, aut deviationem acus nauticae, ut vocant, locorum, longitudo inveniatur, operae praetium me facturum putavi si in hoc globo regiones omnes (saltem quarum longitudo jam cognita est) suis quas q̄ veris longitudinis gradibus delineavero, quamvis id non exigui laboris fuerit. Longitudines incepimus non ab Insulis Fortunatis ut Ptolomeus, sed ab iis quae açores vocantur quod acus nautica ibi recta in septentrionem vergat. Vale. Anno 1601.” “Hondius to the reader greeting. In the matter of the longitude of places all hydrographers, it is agreed, have blundered marvelously, since nearly all regions have been described as navigators, in their voyages, found the direction from one to another, of any two places, without reckoning having been taken from a third place, or account having been taken of the variation of the nautical needle, or even of nautical direction, which they indefinitely make use of, although in one place the needle does not point exactly as in another, being deflected more or less from the true north according to the usage of the country in which the compass card employed was made, and thus the longitude of places is made to vary. Many have tried in vain to eliminate these errors by the polar stars. Others have tried to do the same by noting the course of the moon, and others again, with more certainty, by observations of eclipses; but all this is with much labor, and who will be able thus to get an accurate observation? But now since the longitude of places has been sought through the variation or deviation of the needle, as they say, I thought it would be a work of merit if I noted on this globe all the regions (at least all whose longitude is known) each with its own degree of longitude although knowing this would be no little labor. We have begun our reckoning of longitude not from the Fortunate Islands, as did Ptolemy, but from those which are called the Azores, because there the nautical needle points directly to the north. Farewell. In the year 1601.”

These globes of 1601 are composed of a hollow wooden shell, over which have been pasted the twelve engraved gores. They are mounted on well-constructed bases of copper from which rise the supports for the horizon circle, on the surface of which are the usual graduations, the calendar and zodiacal representations. The meridian circles are of brass, are graduated, and have in addition the engraved designations “Zona torrida,” “Zona temperata,” “Zona frigida.” An example of each of these globes of 1601 may be found in the Museo Municipale of Milan, and one of the celestial globes in the library of the Seminario Vescovile of Rimini.

In the year 1613, shortly after the death of Jodocus Hondius, there was issued in Amsterdam, by Adrian Veen[10] and Jodocus Hondius, Jr., a terrestrial and a celestial globe, each having a diameter of about 56 cm. The dedication of the first reads: “Illustrissimis, Nobilissimis, Amplissimis et Prudentissimis Federatarum Inferioris Germaniae Provinciarum Ordinibus ac Patribus Patriae Dominis Suis Clementissimis Dedicabant Jodocus Hondius Junior et Adrianus Veen. In the year 1613.” “To the Most Illustrious, Most Noble, Most Exalted, Most Prudent Lords of the Federated Provinces of the Netherlands, and Fathers of their Country, their Most Benign Masters, Jodocus Hondius Jr. and Adrian Veen dedicate (this globe).” The title of the terrestrial globe is given as “Globus terrestris summa cura ac diligentia a Jodoco Hondio piae memoriae inchoatus, globosis autem directorii nautici lineis ab Adriano Venone ad usum navigantium accomodatus, illiusque et Jodoci Hondii junioris ope et industria absolutus atque perfactus. Amsterodami 1613.” “Terrestrial globe begun with great care and diligence by Jodocus Hondius of pious memory, furnished with the lines of nautical direction (loxodromes) for the use of navigators, by Adrian Veen, and finished by the industry and labor of the same and of Jodocus Hondius, Jr. Amsterdam 1613.” It seems probable that the Jodocus Hondius here referred to was Henricus Hondius, who for reasons of business had taken the name of his father, affixing the word “Junior.”

The celestial globe to accompany the above terrestrial has the title, “Globus coelestis in quo stellae fixae omnes, quae a Nob. viro Tychone Brahe summa industria ac cura observatae sunt, accuratissima designantur, nec non circa polum austrum eae quae a Peritiss. nauclero Petro Theodorico et Friderico Houtmanno Mathessos studioso annotatae sunt.” “Celestial globe on which are accurately depicted all the fixed stars that were observed by the illustrious Tycho Brahe, with great industry and care: also those stars around the south pole which were noted for the scientific student by the skilful navigator Peter Theodorus, and by Frederick Houtmann.” Surmounting the cartouch containing the above title is a portrait of Tycho Brahe with the legend “Effigies Nob. viri Tychonis Brahe Dani Domini de Knudstrup. Summi Mathematici. Aetatis 47.” “Portrait of the illustrious Tycho Brahe, Danish Lord of Knudstrup, the great mathematician, in his 47th year.” The dedication of this globe differs somewhat from the former, reading, “Illustrissimis, Amplissimis, Clarissimisque D. D. Dominis Ordinibus Provinciarum Foederis Belgici, Don̄is suis Clementissimis in assiduae Gratitudinis memoriam, Dant Dedicantque Adrianus Veen et Jodocus Hondius Junior. Anno 1613.” “To the Illustrious, the Great, the Renowned Lords of the Provinces of United Belgium, their Most Benign Masters, as a token of constant gratitude, Adrian Veen and Jodocus Hondius Jr. give and dedicate (this globe). In the year 1613.” There is evidence that Hondius drew from the work of Willem Jansz. Blaeu for certain features of this edition, in which he followed a practice of the time. Frequent complaint is to be met with, that this borrowing was not always done with the proper note of credit. We find, for example, that in the year 1608 Blaeu presented a special plea to the States of Holland and West Friesland that he be made secure against the loss caused by pirated editions of his works. He informed the States that he had given himself hope of being able to support his family in an honest way, and that he would have succeeded with God’s mercy and blessing, if certain individuals engaged in the same business had not undertaken to copy his productions.[11] It seems probable that Blaeu’s complaint touched in some manner his large world map of the year 1605, since there is striking resemblance between this and the world map of Hondius issued in the year 1611, and, as noted above, we find that Jodocus Hondius’ son, signing himself Jodocus Hondius, Jr., continued to borrow from his distinguished contemporary’s work. The practice of borrowing, however, seems to have been later reversed, when Blaeu, undoubtedly noting the success of Hondius’ large globe of 1613, decided himself to produce one yet larger, as a result of which we have the splendid Blaeu globe of 1622.

A pair of this issue of the year 1613 may be found in the Biblioteca Barbarini of Rome, and another pair in the Biblioteca Civico of Treviso. An example of the celestial globe may be found in the Museo di Strumenti Antichi di Astronomia e di Fisica of Florence.

In the year 1615 we find that Josef de Rossi of Milan undertook, without giving proper credit, the publication of the Hondius globes of the year 1601.[12] In size there is agreement, but certain changes in dates are to be noted, as in the address to the reader, wherein we find 1615 instead of 1601, but in other respects there has been a literal transcription. In the celestial globe of 1601 we find the following reference to the recorded position of the fixed stars, “Accomodata ad annum 1600, editus vero 1601,” whereas in the Rossi copy we find “accomodatae ad annum 1614 editus vero 1615.” The dedication of this terrestrial globe of 1615 reads: “Ill^mo viro optimaraq̄ artium amatori et Fautori D. Paulo Mellino Romano. Josephus de Rubeis Mediolanensis devoti animi monumentum dat dicatque.” “To the Most Illustrious, the Lover and Promoter of the best arts D. Paulus Mellinus of Rome, Joseph de Rossi of Milan gives and dedicates this token of devoted friendship.” A copy of the terrestrial globe of 1615 may be found in the private library of the Italian artist, Lessi, of Florence, and a copy of the celestial globe belongs to Collegio Romano of Rome.

The Hispanic Society of America possesses a terrestrial globe signed Jodocus Hondius and dated 1618 (Fig. [91]). Jodocus the elder died in the year 1611, and while the map of this globe may be a reprint of one which he had engraved, it should be noted that it does not agree in all of its details with any other known globe of his, and may therefore be the work of the son. The sphere of papier-mâché has a diameter of 20 cm. and is supported on a base of wood which includes a horizon circle, having pasted on its surface the usual representations of zodiacal signs, the calendar, and the names of the principal winds or directions. This horizon circle rests upon four small turned legs joined at the bottom by cross bars, covering which bars is a circular turned disc 22 cm. in diameter, from the center of which rises a short post. Through a slot in this post passes a graduated meridian circle within which the globe ball revolves.

Fig. 91. Terrestrial Globe of Jodocus Hondius, 1618.

The map is slightly water-stained, but the American portion is particularly well preserved. A crack in the sphere along the meridian of 150 degrees east extends from pole to pole, and is rather a disfigurement than a serious injury to any part of the surface. The map is a remarkably fine example of the Dutch map engraver’s art. The lettering and the continental outlines were remarkably well cut in the copper plate used in the printing, and in many places the luster of the ink is still preserved. In the northern part of North America is the brief and interesting dedication “Clarissimis Consultissimique Nauticae Belgicaeque Federatarum Inferioris Germaniae Regionum Praefectis D. D. Jodocus Hondius.” “To the most illustrious and most prudent prefects and seamen of Belgium and of the region of lower Germany, Jodocus Hondius gives and dedicates (this globe).” In the “Terra Australis incognita” is the address to the reader which is practically identical with that to be found on the Hondius terrestrial globe of 1601, omitting, however, the word “Vale” and changing the date to “1618.” Near the entrance to Hudson’s Bay is a legend reading “Huc retrocesserunt Amstelodamensis anno 1612.”

From this bay an arm extends to the southwest which is referred to as “The bay where Hudson did winter,” and an arm extends to the southeast, which is referred to as “The Bay of Gosneres.” A few other brief legends are given, referring to an event or to events supposed to have taken place in the locality in which they are placed. Small but artistically engraved ships sail the Atlantic and the Pacific, and here and there a marine animal is represented. Loxodromic lines are made a conspicuous feature, having their crossing centers at longitudes 0, 90, 180, and 270 on the equator, likewise on the prime meridian at latitude 35 degrees both north and south, as well as at the same latitudes on the opposite side of the sphere, where the prime meridian becomes the meridian of 180 degrees. In addition to this example belonging to The Hispanic Society’s collection, one may be found in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum of Nürnberg.[13]

Not until the year 1640 do we find the name Hondius again appearing on a dated globe. Attention has been called to the fact that Henricus, the son of Jodocus, continued, with more or less diligence, the work of map engraving and map printing, which the latter had carried on so successfully in Amsterdam until the time of his death. We are told that a partnership in the business, about the year 1639, was formed by Henricus Hondius with Johan Janssonius, his brother-in-law, and that this business, after the year 1644, passed entirely into the hands of the latter. It was in the year 1640 that the firm referred to undertook the reissue of the Hondius globes of earlier date. These had a diameter of about 52 cm. The gore maps, consisting of twelve parts, were made to extend to within twenty degrees of each pole, the polar space being covered with the usual polar cap.

The address to the reader, to be found on the terrestrial globe of the year 1613, is repeated on this of 1640,[14] but the dedication differs somewhat in the two, reading, on those of the 1640 issue, “Illustrissimis, Nobilissimis, Amplissimis et Prudentissimis Foederatarum Inferioris Germaniae provinciarum Ordinibus ac Patribus Patriae Dominis suis clementissimis dedicabat Henricus Hondius. Henricus Hondius excudebat An. 1640.” “To the Most Illustrious, Most Noble, Most Exalted and Prudent Lords of the United Netherlands, the Fathers of their Country, his Most Clement Master, Henricus Hondius dedicates (this globe). Constructed by Henricus Hondius in the year 1640.” There have been added a number of interesting legends, such as the following: “Inter S. Laurentii et los Romeros insulas vehemens admodum est versus ortum et occasum fluxus et refluxus maris.” “Between the islands of St. Lawrence and Los Romeros there is an exceedingly strong ebb and flow of the sea eastward and westward”; “Psitacorum regio sic a Lusitanis appellata ob eorum avium ibidem magnitudinem.” “The region of the parrots, and this is so called by the Portuguese because of the great number of these birds found here”;[15] “Promontorium terrae australis distans 450 leucas a capite Bonae Spei et 600 a S. Augustini.” “This promontory of the southern land is distant 450 leagues from the Cape of Good Hope, and 600 from Cape St. Augustine”; “Accolae Freti Magellanici septentrionem versus procerae, meridiem vero versus exiquae magnitidinis reperiuntur.” “The inhabitants of the Strait of Magellan toward the north are of large size, but toward the south they are of small stature”; “Lybia inferior quae hodie Saara appellatur quae vox idem quod desertum significat.” “Lower Lybia is called today Sahara, which word means desert.” In the Hudson Bay region we find, “In sinu Maris Hudsons Bay vulgo dictus ubi M. Hudson hybernavit, ibidem maris aestus non ultra duos pedes accrescebat, quod et observabit D. Thomas Jacobus a. 1631 in sinu ‘James his Bay’ dicto et ubi mensuram duorum pedum non excedebat maris tumor.” “In the bend of the sea called Hudson’s Bay, where Hudson passed the winter, the tide of the sea did not rise more than two feet, which also was observed by Thomas James in the year 1631[16] in the Bay called James his Bay where the rise of the sea likewise did not exceed two feet.” Near the last-quoted legend we find, “Thomas Button hibernans in portu Nelson ad altitudinem grad. 57 observavit singulis ex horis aestum maris accrescere 15 pedes aut ultra, qui flante Zephiro solito magis instar plenilunii intumescebat. Sequenti aestate animadvertit quoque ad altitudinem grad. 60 similes aestus maris qui nunc orientem versus nunc occidentem vergebant.” “Thomas Button,[17] who passed the winter in Port Nelson, at the high latitude of 57 degrees, observed hour by hour the tide of the sea to rise 15 feet or more, which tide, with the accustomed wind blowing, swelled very like a (spring) tide. Next summer he noticed at a latitude of 60 degrees similar ocean tides which now had an eastward flow and now a westward.” A legend has been added relating to the magnetic poles and to the difficulty of locating the same, reading “Duos in hoc loco Gerardus Mercator et alii eundem secuti posuerunt Polos magnetis, unum respectu insularum capitis viridis, alterum respectu insulae Corvi et Floridis: cum vero de his nihil certi sit, et quotidiana experientia nos aliter doceat de deviatione acus nauticae ambos omissimus.” “Gerard Mercator and others following him have placed two magnetic poles in this locality, one according to the direction indicated (by the compass needle) at the Cape Verde Islands, the other according to the direction indicated at the Islands of Corvus and Flores: but as nothing is known for a certainty concerning these, and a daily experience teaches us otherwise concerning the variation of the magnetic needle, we have omitted both poles.”[18]

The globes of this edition were supplied with the usual brass meridian circles, wooden horizon circles, on the surface of which was pasted the printed representation of the zodiacal signs, the names of the months, and of the principal winds or directions.

The celestial globe follows, in its records, more closely than does the terrestrial, the issue of 1613. The title legend, the reference to Tycho Brahe, and the reference to the star which appeared in the year 1572 in the constellation Cassiopeia, all agree with those in the earlier edition, as do, in the main, the representations of the figures of the several Ptolemaic constellations and those added in the southern hemisphere. The dedication reads, “Illustrissimis Nobilissimis Amplissimis Clarissimisque D. D. Dominis Ordinibus Provinciarum Foederis Belgici Dominis suis Clementissimis in assiduae gratitudinis memoriam dat, dicat dedicatque Illustriss. Amplit. Vest. devotus Henricus Hondius.” “To the Most Illustrious, Most Noble, Most Exalted, Most Renowned Lords of the United Provinces of Belgium, his Most Clement Masters, as a memorial of constant gratitude, gives and dedicates to Your Illustrious Highnesses (this globe). Henricus Hondius.”

A copy of each of these globes of 1640 may be found in the library of the Seminario Vescovile of Portogruaro, a copy of each in the Biblioteca Quiriniana of Brescia, and one of each, though undated, in the Museo Civico of Vicenza.

If the Van Langren family and the Hondius family brought renown to their country through the excellence of their work in the field of cartography, so likewise did the Blaeu family, father and sons. Perhaps to Willem Jansz. Blaeu (Fig. [92]) and his son, John, belongs first place in the long line of distinguished map and globe makers of the Netherlands.[19]

Fig. 92. Portrait of Willem Jansz. Blaeu.

A record which finds general acceptance tells us that Willem Blaeu was born in the village of Alkmaar in the year 1571.[20] Of his childhood years very little is known. It was some time in his early boyhood that he went to Amsterdam, where he found employment, it appears, at first in the house of a Holland merchant, and later as a joiner’s apprentice. We can be certain neither of the time when he decided to leave Amsterdam, nor of the exact circumstances which induced him to visit the island of Hveen, then belonging to Denmark, an event of much significance in his life. We, however, cannot be far wrong in asserting the promptings for this visit to have been his early liking for mathematical, geographical, and astronomical studies. It was here that he first came into intimate relations with Tycho Brahe, the famous Danish astronomer, who, in the year 1576, through princely favor, came into possession of this island, and, as before noted, had erected here his remarkably well-appointed astronomical observatory, which he called Uranienburg.[21] For nearly a quarter of a century this was one of the most famous centers in all Europe for the study of astronomical science and of its practical application. Blaeu, however, was not the first of the young Netherlanders to find the way to Uranienburg to receive instruction from the great master.[22] Of his sojourn on the island we have but little direct information. It appears certain that he passed at least two years with Tycho, engaged the while in study and in the construction of mathematical and astronomical instruments. That the relations between the two distinguished scientists continued to be of the most friendly character after Blaeu returned to Amsterdam is very certain. Not a few of those who in later years praised Blaeu’s scientific attainments refer to him as “the pupil and longtime friend of Brahe,” and Blaeu himself, in certain legends appearing on his globes and maps, refers to him as his teacher. It cannot be doubted that Blaeu owed to his abode on the Island of Hveen the real foundation of his scientific knowledge, both in the field of geography and astronomy, as well as his knowledge of the construction and the skilful use of mathematical instruments. We have reason for believing that a number of the instruments which served the great astronomer in his investigations[23] were the work of Blaeu, and it is an interesting fact, as we know, that Brahe’s observations, here made, formed the basis for Kepler’s calculations, leading him to the discovery of the laws which immortalized his name.[24]

It was perhaps late in the year 1596 or early in the year 1597 that Blaeu returned to Amsterdam, where he soon established himself as a maker of mathematical instruments, of maps and of globes, and as an engraver and printer. There is good reason for thinking that from the first he prospered in his undertakings, and, from incidental references to his activities, it may be inferred that it was not long after 1600 he was in his own fully equipped house. From his presses numerous works were issued, the many examples of which, still adorning the shelves of most prominent libraries, are a monument to his great abilities.

On his ‘Paescarte,’ one of his earliest publications,[25] and usually referred to the year 1606, we read that it was “Ghedruckt t’ Amsterdam bij Willem Janssoon op’t Waeter inde Sonnewijser,” a location often referred to in certain later publications as “op’ t water In de vergulde Sonnewyser,” reference here being to the gilded sundial which, as a business sign, adorned the gable of his establishment. It appears that in this originally selected locality his work was carried on until the year 1637, when his entire plant was moved into more commodious quarters in the Blumengracht, one year only before his death. The sons, John and Cornelius, succeeded to the business, and to the former especially belongs the credit of issuing the most sumptuous atlas in that period of remarkable map making.[26] In the year 1672 practically the entire establishment was destroyed by fire.

Willem Blaeu’s training admirably fitted him to serve his country in matters pertaining to its maritime interests, and its calls as well as its rewards for service were not infrequent. As proof of the confidence that his contemporaries had in his knowledge of geography and navigation, the Estates General of Amsterdam, January 3, 1633, by resolution, appointed him Map Maker of the Republic, an honorable position held by him until his death, then being successively passed on to his son and to his grandson.[27]

We are told that Tycho had given to Blaeu a copy of his astronomical observations before their publication, that this copy was carried to Amsterdam, and that after a careful study of the records contained therein the latter began the practice of globe making.[28] The implication contained in this reference is that his first work as a globe maker was the preparation of material for a celestial globe, but no such globe of his, bearing date earlier than 1602, is known. His first dated work appears to have been a terrestrial globe of the year 1599. In many of its features it gives evidence that Mercator was the master followed, notably in the representation of the loxodromic lines which radiate from the numerous wind or compass roses, or from centers regularly placed on the surface of the globe.

This first issue has a diameter of 34 cm., which is less than that of Mercator’s globe of the year 1541, but greater than that of the Van Langren globe of the year 1585.[29] The gores, twelve in number, were cut seven degrees from the poles, the polar space being covered with a circular disc. Blaeu, as many other globe makers of his period, found that by thus dividing the engraved globe map a more nearly perfect covering for the sphere could be obtained. Meridians and parallels are drawn at intervals of ten degrees, the prime meridian passing through the island of Santa Maria in the Azores group. In a conspicuously placed cartouch he presents his address to the reader. “Spectatori meo S. Hanc terrae marisque faciem qui aspicis sic inspice ne dispicias: multa hic mutata, (sed nihil temere) quae, nisi attendas, facile fugiant. Ratio constructionis in multis nova, sed proba. Gibbum plano, planum globo commutavimus: duplicato labori: sed certiori: idque ut ventorum spirae justis per orbem trrarum gyris discurrerent: hinc factum ut in omnibus terrae oris praeter parallelorum et meridianorum etiam plagae ratio nobis fuerit habenda. Quae quidem omnia attento spectatori facile apparebunt. Vale et fruere. Guilielmus Jansonius Alcmariensis auctor et sculptor. 1599.” “Greeting to my observer. This representation of the earth and sea, which thou beholdest, be pleased to take note of in this manner. Many things here have been changed, but nothing without reason, and unless thou art attentive these things might easily escape thee. The method of construction is in many points new, but correct. We have changed that which is relief into the flat, and the flat into the globular, a double labor but more nearly correct, and we did this that the directions of the winds throughout the world might be given their proper (loxodromic) spirals: and we have made a representation of the coast lines of all shores of the earth, besides a representation of the parallels and meridians. All this will be seen by the attentive observer. Farewell, and may you be happy. William Jansz. Alcmar, author and sculptor. 1599.” Fiorini is of the opinion the expression “multa hic mutata” in the above quoted inscription indicates that the copies in which it is found are reprints of an earlier edition, and that it has been inserted for the purpose of keeping the globe on sale. Is not the reference rather to this simple fact that Blaeu borrowed much of his geographical information from others, as he admits, including Mercator and Van Langren, and that he had merely altered the same to the end of bringing his records to date? The dedication reads “Noblissimis, Amplissimis, Clarissimis, D. D. Dominis Ordinibus Foederatarum Inferioris Germaniae Provinciarum dignissimis fidis Patriae Patribus hoc terrae marisque Theatrum L. M. Q. Dat, Dicat, Dedicat Cliens Vester subjectis. Guilielmus Jansonius Alcmarianus.” “To the Most Noble, Most Distinguished, Most Illustrious, Lords of the United Provinces of Lower Germany, Fathers of their Country this representation of the land and the sea gives, grants, and delivers your humble client Willem Jansz. Alcmar.” It will be noted that the family name Blaeu was not employed in the signature, but instead Alcmar, the name of his native place. He apparently did not consider it essential always to employ the same name. Sometimes he gave this as Guilielmus Jansonius Blaeu, Guil. Jansz. Blaeu, Guiljelmus Blaeuw; sometimes he gave it as Guilielmus Janssonius Alcmarianus, or Guil. Jansz. Alcmar; sometimes as Guiljelmus Caesius or J. G. Caesius, in which he had classicized his name Blaeu; sometimes the name is coupled with that of the son as Guil. et Johan Blaeu. The legends on this globe are numerous which tell of great discoveries and explorations, of which the principal ones are here quoted from Baudet’s readings from the Leiden copy. Near the north pole we find “Hic tandem passi graviora Batavi, proxima tempestate diversum iam iter ingressi, nostrum altius mundi verticem versus progressi, ignotas quaerere terras, et si qua proprior ad Chinam aditus aggressi sunt. Mirum quid invenerint! immane quid evenerit! Sic, macte Proles Neptunia novisque honoribus hanc gentem nostram cumula, male coepisti, si hic sistas. Durum hoc, sed perdura, nec cede malis sed contra audentior ito. Fata viam expedient.” “As far as this, after suffering great hardships, the Dutch, in recent times have progressed toward the top of the world, seeking unknown lands, and if there is any shorter way to China. Wonderful are their discoveries! Strange things have happened! Go on, O blessed progeny of Neptune, and add new honors to our race. You have begun ill if you stop here. It is a hard task, but endure. Do not yield to misfortune, but on the contrary be more daring. Fate will clear the way.”

In the same locality “Immortale nomen & gloriam incomparabilem vobis, Columbe et Americe comparastis, Qui primi has terras (alteram orbis partem) tot iam secula latentes adire, detegere, lustrare et utinam perlustrare voluistis: Fruct^s vero maximos multis perperistis.” “Ye have gained an immortal name, and incomparable glory for yourselves, Columbus and Americus, who were the first to approach these lands to discover and disclose them (the other part of the world) unknown for so many centuries, and I would that you had desired to explore them. You have brought forth much fruit for the many.” Another reads, “Magnam porro gloriae partem Ferdinande Magellane, iure tibi vendicas: cui ... vastae regionis Australem terminum quaerere eamq. freto cognimini nobis perviam facere lubuit & licuit.” “A large share of the glory thou doest rightly claim, O Ferdinand Magellan, to whom it was pleasing and to whom it was allowed to seek the southern bounds of a vast region, and to open the Strait for us that bears thy name”; also a legend referring to the Cortereals, “Utinam vero par eventus Casparo Cortereali contigisset, qui iam ante maiori conatu quam successu transitum a Borea attentaverat: et quoties Britannis idem fervide molientibus et aeris iniutiis gradum revocare coactis.” “I wish that like success had come to Gaspar Cortereal, who before, with greater effort than achievement attempted to find a passage by way of the north. Likewise to the British (I wish success) strenuously attempting the same but forced to retreat by reason of adverse weather.”

As in the issue of his sheet maps, Blaeu was not always careful to add an exact date of preparation, in the majority of instances, indeed, omitting the date altogether, so also in the issue of his globes he frequently omitted dates or gave one which we know to have been later than was that of the original issue. His geographical records serve us, however, as fairly accurate guides in the determination of these dates, and what was so frequently true of the globes he constructed in the last years of his life was true of this his first. We have, for example, copies of this bearing date 1599, which contains geographical records of the year 1616, indicating therefore a later reprint with a few alterations.

It was not until the year 1603 that he undertook the preparation of a celestial globe to serve as a companion of his first terrestrial. This he dedicated, “Illustriss^o Principi ac Domiōauritio, Principi Auraico Comiti de Naussau etc., Marchioni Veriae et Flissingae etc., Domino suo Clementissimo, Hos astriferum, stellarum arte coelo deductarum, coelum Gratus M.O.D.D.C.Q. Guilielmus Jansonius Alcmarianus.” “To the Illustrious Prince and Lord D. Maurice, Prince of Orange, Count of Nassau, etc., Marquis of Veria and Flissingen, etc., his Most Benign Lord, this globe of the stars brought down from heaven by art is gratefully dedicated by its maker with dutiful mind. Willem Jansz. Alcmar.” In his title legend he makes particular reference to his teacher Tycho, which legend reads: “Sphaera stellifera. In qua ut speculo quondam firmamenti Universaum Syderū ornatum ac stellarum ordinem summa, qua fieri potuit, industria a Guilielmo Jansonio, magni Tychonis quondam discipulo, accuratissime disposititum: earumque numerum multo quam hactenus, auctiorem ex observationibus recens. a Nob. viro D. Tychone Brahe, astronomo incōparabili, habitis, depromta anno 1600, et quo deinceps seculo, accommodata intueri liceat.” “Celestial sphere. Herein as in a mirror all the stars of the firmament are depicted, and in proper order with the greatest possible industry and accuracy by Willem Janson the former pupil of the great Tycho: their number much increased from recent observations made by the noble D. Tycho Brahe, that incomparable astronomer, taken from his observations made in the year 1600, and made with an accommodation for the coming century.” Near this cartouch is a portrait of the great astronomer with his favorite motto, “Non haberi, sed esse.” Near the south pole we find a reference to recent astronomical discoveries in the following words: “Habetis hic, Astronomum studiosi, trecentas et plures antarctici mundi vertici viciniores stellas, ex observationibus secundum jam a Frederico Houtmanno, majori studio et accommodatioribus instrumentis, ad stellas a Tychone positas factis, depromptas: auctiori numero et accuratiori dispositione vestro commodo et delectationi depictas A. 1603.” “Thou hast here, O student of astronomy, more than three hundred stars, that are nearest the pole of the antarctic world, from the observations made by Frederick Houtmann with further study and with more suitable instruments, along with the stars that were located by Tycho: this increased number and this more accurate location having been set down for your use and delight in the year 1603.” He adds here and there a brief legend in which he directs attention to recently discovered stars.

The purchase of a pair of these globes, that of 1599 and of 1603, was reported in the year 1885 by Dr. Baumgärtner,[31] who refers to them as having a diameter of 34 cm., as being well mounted and artistically colored. On the first, he notes, are represented sea monsters swimming in the oceans, and the natives of many of the little known regions appear in picture, as, for example, in the region of Patagonia, near which appears the legend, “Patagonae regio ubi incolae sunt gigantes.” “The region of Patagonia where giants live.” Greenland is laid down as a small island, as is also Corea. The region of Bering Sea shows clearly how inexact was the knowledge of the North Pacific in his day, and the same inexact geographic knowledge of the southernmost region of South America and of Australia is strikingly recorded. There are slight differences apparently existing between Dr. Baumgärtner’s globes and certain other known copies of the same date, but differences which are of no special significance.

A pair of these globes was announced in the sales catalogue, “Geographie cartographie & voyage, 1891,” of Frederik Muller of Amsterdam. A geographical record on the terrestrial globe clearly indicates that it was not issued, however, until after 1616, although dated 1599, since it contains a reference to the Van Schouten voyage of 1615-1617. It was on this voyage, says Van Schouten in his ‘Journal,’ that he gave the name “Staten Lant” to that region on the left as one enters the Lemaire Strait, and the name “Isle of Barnevelt” to the island discovered in this strait.[32] Both of these names appear on this globe. It has in addition an interesting legend which might be taken to suggest that the globe was not constructed until the year 1682, although the gores, save for this legend, may have been printed much earlier. This legend reads, “’t Amsteldam by Joannes van Ceulen, Joanniszoon op de hoek van de Mol-steegh, in de Nieuwen Atlas, werd gedruckt en op nieu uytgegeven met Praevilegie ... alle de Globes en Spaeren by den Heer Joan Blaeu Zal. nagelaten. Ao. 1682.” The celestial globe seems to agree with other known copies.

Two copies of the terrestrial globe of 1599 and two of the celestial of 1603 may be found in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum of Nürnberg. A pair may be found in the Biblioteca Angelica of Rome and a pair, reported to be in good condition, belongs to the Biblioteca Comunale of Fano. Adam Kästner reports, in his ‘Geschichte der Mathematik,’ the purchase of a pair of this first edition of Blaeu’s globes.[33] According to a catalogue entry of objects belonging to the University of Leiden in the year 1716 there is reference to two pairs of Blaeu’s globes. Only one pair of these, however, seems now to be known, which pair a few years since was removed to the Astronomical Observatory.[34]

In the year 1602 Blaeu issued a terrestrial and a celestial globe, each having a diameter of 23 cm. In a legend on his terrestrial globe he refers to it as an improvement, doubtless meaning that he had undertaken to bring its geographical records to date. This globe he dedicates as follows: “Noblis^is Illustr^is Hollandiae Zelandiae ac Westphrisiae ordinibus, P.P.P. Clementiss^is hanc terrae marisque aphaerum summa diligentia accuratissime fabricatam: debiti honoris gratique animi testimonium L.M.D.D.D. Amstelodami. Guilielmus Jansonius Blaeu. anno 1602.” “To the Most Noble, Most Illustrious Princes of Holland, Zeeland and West Friesland, Most Benign Rulers. This sphere of the earth and sea, accurately constructed with the utmost care is dedicated by Willem Jansz. Blaeu of Amsterdam as a testimony of honor due and of a grateful mind. In the year 1602.” Over this legend have been placed the coats of arms of the three provinces designated and near it a legend reading, “En denuo studiose Geographiae, terrestrem contractioriforma globum, multo, quam ante hac unquam, emendatius et auctius confectum: a ventorum spiris navigantium comodo, exquisitius adornatum: nec non navigationis curriculo, ab Oliverio van Noort Batavo in orbem peracto, notatum. Auctor Guilielmo Iansonio Blaeu.” “Here again, O student of geography, thou hast a terrestrial globe in smaller size, much smaller than ever before, and more accurately and completely furnished, having the spiral directions of the winds (the loxodromes) represented for the use of navigators. These have been carefully drawn, and there is also indicated the course of circumnavigation of the Dutchman Oliver van der Noort.[35] Willem Jansz. Blaeu author.” Van der Noort, to whom reference is made in this legend, had started out in the year 1598, hence his expedition was a recent event and was therefore thought worthy of reference. He sailed through the Strait of Magellan, reached the Indies of the East, and with four of his original ships returned to Holland in the year 1601. Blaeu, as he states, marked on his globe the course of this expedition. The celestial globe constructed as a companion of the former has a similar dedication reading, “Nobilis^is Illust^is Hollandiae Zelandiae Westphrisiae Ordinibus D. D. suis Clementis^is hunc astriferum inerrantium stellarum globum, summa cura et industria adornatum debiti ossequii et gratitudinis ... D. D. D. Guilielmus Jansonius Blaeu.” “To the Most Noble, and Illustrious Princes of Holland, Zeeland, and West Friesland, Most Benign Rulers: this celestial globe of the fixed stars, prepared with the greatest care and industry is dedicated as a gift of obedience due and of gratitude. William Jansz. Blaeu.” A legend somewhat descriptive in character near the former reads, “Habes hic Astrophile stellarum inerantium ex certis^is D. Ticho Brahe (mei quondam praeceptoris) observationibus numero et dispositione prae aliis an̄o 1600 accomodatarum sphaeram accuratissime expolitam et Australibus asterismis quod novum a Federico Houtmano observatis exornatam. Auctor Guilielmo Jans^o Blaeu.” “Thou hast here, O lover of the stars, a globe of the fixed stars from the most accurate observations of D. Tycho Brahe (my onetime preceptor) in their number and disposition, besides other observations accommodated to the year 1600, finished and furnished with (a representation) of the southern stars which have of late been discovered by Frederick Houtmann. Willem Jansz. Blaeu author.” Stars varying in magnitude from the first to the sixth, receive each an appropriate representation or sign, and there is a separate distinguishing mark for the nebulae. To each of the constellations is given its Latin name. In addition to the forty-eight constellations of Ptolemy he gives the two sometimes referred to by the ancients, “Bernice’s Hair” and “Antinous,” adding, with names, more than ten constellations in the southern sky. A legend in the constellation “Cepheus” tells us, with reference to one of its stars, “Haec stupendae magnitudinis stella insolito fulgore anno 1572 in Cassiopeia sede amicuit.” “This star of great size and unwonted brilliancy appeared in the Chair of Cassiopeia.” In the constellation “Cygnus” is a legend reading “Novam illam stellam quae anno 1600 primum in pectore Cygni apparuit (atque etiam nunc immota parte) ex diligenti nostra ad eandem Lyrae lucidae observatione Longitudo 16° 15´, latitudo 55° 30´ labore comperimus.” “The new star which in the year 1600 first appeared in the breast of the Swan and to the present has not altogether disappeared, this we have located, by diligent search in Lyra long. 16° 15´ and lat. 55° 30´.”

By reason of the fact that so few copies of this issue are known to exist, it has been thought that for some reason Blaeu issued a very limited number. We know, however, that his terrestrial globes were highly valued and were much in demand, because of the care with which they had been prepared, because of the efforts to give information concerning the latest discoveries, and because of his representation of the loxodromic lines which made them of special value to navigators; that his celestial globes found favor by reason of the fact that he was known to be a pupil of Tycho Brahe, and that he himself was known to be a mathematician and astronomer of distinction. To the following known examples of the 1602 issue brief reference may be made. In the Accademia dei Concordi of Rovigo, Italy, there may be found a fine pair. The Stadtbibliothek of Nürnberg possesses a fine pair, reported by the librarian to be in excellent condition, and two copies of the celestial globe may be found in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum of the same city. A copy of the terrestrial globe is to be found in the collection of the Königliches Museum of Cassel, and one in the town of Rüdingen near Schaffhausen.

The Hispanic Society of America possesses, in its rich collection of globes, a fine example of Blaeu’s terrestrial of the year 1606 (Fig. [93]). It has a diameter of 13.5 cm., is mounted on a substantial wooden base, has a graduated meridian circle, half of which, however, is missing, a wooden horizon circle, on the upper surface of which is pasted an engraved slip of paper with the usual graduation, the calendar, and the names of the zodiacal signs. A legend in the great austral land which is called “Magallanica,” contains the date and refers to its dedication to Blaeu’s learned friend of Edam, Cornelius Petrius. This legend reads “Omnium virtutū genere ornatissimo viro Domino Cornelio Petreio ecclesiastae apud Edamenses vigilantiss. et mathematico eximio suo singulari hanc orbis sphaerae a se hoc modo delineatae L. M. Q. D. D. Guilielmus Blaeu. Anno D. 1606.” “To Dom. Cornelius Petrius, a man adorned with all virtue, a most vigilant ecclesiastic among the people of Edam and a mathematician of singular renown, Willem Blaeu dedicates this terrestrial globe now completed by him in the year 1606.” In the northern part of North America is the title legend reading “Nova et accurata terrae marisque sphaera denuo recognita et correcta a Guilielmo Blaeu.” “A new and accurate sphere of the earth and sea newly revised and corrected by Willem Blaeu.” The globe ball is of hollow metal thinly covered with a preparation of plaster on which have been pasted the twelve engraved gores extending from pole to pole. As in the case of the Muller copy of the issue of 1599 this one, though dated 1606, contains a record of the discoveries of the Van Schouten expedition, that is, the names “Staten Lant,” “I. Barnevelt,” and “Fr. le Maire,” discoveries made in the year 1616, as before mentioned.[36] The magnitude of the austral land is made to equal or to exceed that of the entire Old World, the most northern extension of which, in the East Indian region, bears the name “Nova Guinea.”[37] Its geographical information in general agrees with that so carefully recorded on the Blaeu maps. In the western and southern sections of North America the source of information has been largely Spanish, in the eastern the source has been French and English, and in the northeast almost entirely English. In the north Atlantic we still find “Brazil,” “Maides,” and “Frisland,” the mythical islands of the Zeno Brothers, and north of Europe a record of the attempts of the Netherlanders to reach “Nowaja Semlja.” For so small a globe the detailed geographical information given is very remarkable.

Fig. 93. Terrestrial Globe of Willem Jansz. Blaeu, 1606.

In addition to this example the British Museum kindly sends the information that in its collection there is a copy of Blaeu’s terrestrial globe of the year 1606, agreeing in its dimensions with the copy in the collection of The Hispanic Society of America, also of a celestial globe of the same date which appears to be a unique copy.

The Hispanic Society of America also possesses a terrestrial and a celestial globe, the work of Blaeu, globes clearly issued as companion pieces (Fig. [94]), which appear to be the only copies known, the latter dated 1616, the former undated.[38] The spheres have each a diameter of about 10 cm., a substantial and artistic mounting of brass, including meridian and horizon circles, four twisted support columns, and a circular base plate. Though small in size, probably the smallest constructed by Blaeu, in their geographical and astronomical details they are remarkably full.

Fig. 94. Terrestrial and Celestial Globes of Willem Jansz. Blaeu, 1616.

The terrestrial globe, in an artistic cartouch near the south pole, is referred to as “Nova Orbis Terrarum Descriptio Auctor Guilielmo Blaeu.” “A new description of the world by Willem Blaeu author.” Unlike that of the year 1606, noted above, it contains no reference to the expedition of Van Schouten and Le Maire, and records only the Strait of Magellan at the southern extremity of South America. Continental contours, even that of “Magallanica” and of the New World, agree in practically all details with his earlier globes and general world maps. He has retained certain geographical names which appear more or less conspicuously on some of the earlier maps, as “Estotiland” north of Labrador, “Frisland” and “Island” in the north Atlantic and “Norembega” applied to the coast of Maine. The north Pacific is entirely too narrow and the island of “Japan” is located not far from the west coast of North America. Bering Strait is well represented but is unnamed. The map is not well preserved, the chief injury to it being in the western part of North America and in the central and eastern Pacific.

The celestial globe, which is the companion of the former, has a similar brass mounting. It is remarkably well preserved and all inscriptions on the surface of the ball are easily legible. It is made to revolve about the axis of the ecliptic. The figures representing the several constellations have been artistically engraved, and stars up to the sixth magnitude have appropriate and distinct representation. A legend near the south pole reads “Sphaera stellata in qua ceu speculo Stellae fixae ex accuratis Nobilis viri D. Tychonis Brahe observationibus ad annum 1600 accommodatae conspicuae sito ponuntur.” “The starry sphere in which as in a mirror the fixed stars are placed by the accurate observations of the Noble D. Tycho Brahe, accommodated to the year 1600.”

Blaeu’s earliest globes, as has been noted, were of small dimensions. It must have been shortly after the year 1616 that he decided to undertake the construction of those of much greater size, to the end of making his work the more serviceable; but to this he may have been led in part, as before noted, by the success of the large globes of Hondius of the year 1613.[39] Unfortunately it is not easy to determine the exact date of the several issues of his work appearing in the last twenty years of his life. In general, the date of the construction of the globes of these years is altogether wanting. The dedications in the several reprints or editions vary, as do many of the inscriptions, while the large size of the globes remains practically the same. One cannot feel certain that a date, apparently given as the year of construction, is accurate, since it is very evident in the several reprints care was not always given to this detail.

The first issue of his large terrestrial globes seems to date from the year 1622, though the suggestion is not wanting that he had actually completed the celestial globe before the close of the year 1616.

With but slight variation in the form of the expression, we find on all examples of his largest globes the inscription “Amstelredami. Excusum in aedibus auctoris ...,” indicating at least that the printing was done in the author’s Amsterdam workshop. All have a diameter of about 68 cm., though the mountings of the several known examples differ somewhat.

The Hispanic Society of America possesses a fine example of the terrestrial globe, dated 1622 (Fig. [95]). The ball is formed of papier-mâché, having over its surface a thin coating of plaster made perfectly smooth and shellacked to receive the thirty-six engraved gores, or twice eighteen half gores, and the usual circular polar caps. It is well preserved, considering its great size and its age, though somewhat injured in the region of the western Mediterranean, in the East Indian Islands, in West Africa, in South America, and in parts of the Pacific Ocean. It is furnished with an elaborate wooden base, a considerable part of which appears to have been added subsequent to that constituting the main support, a horizon circle of wood, and a meridian circle of brass. The map is a fine example of the work done in the Netherlands by the copper engravers and printers of the period, in particular of the work which issued from the Blaeu press. Continental outlines are well drawn, lands and seas are crowded with geographical records, including individual names and legends. Very artistically designed ships sail the oceans singly or in fleets, and compass lines as well as loxodromic lines are very numerous, radiating from centers distributed over the surface of the map. Much of the original color which had been artistically applied by hand still remains, particularly on the southern hemisphere, which has been less exposed to the light and to careless handling. The author and date legend placed near the south pole in an artistic cartouch reads, “In ista quam exibimus, terreni globi descriptione omnium regionum juxta et insularum, quotquot hacetnus a nostris Argonautis, vel etiam ab aliarum gentium Naucleris visae et notatae, loca in suo secundum longitudinem et latitudinem situ, summa sedulitate et industria disposita invenies, quae res non solum Geographiae studiosis jocunda, verum etiam iis, qui terras longe dissitas et sub alio sole calentes frequentent, maxime utilis futura est. In quorum gratiam etiam rhombus nauticos (ita vocantur Helices lineae secundum ventorum plagus delineatae) quam accuratissime expressimus. Hunc igitur laborem nostrum ut tam Gratis animis accipiatis, quanta sedulitate a nobis est obitus, ex aequo omnes rogatos volo. Guiljelmus Caesius Auctor. Anno CICICCCXXII.” “In this terrestrial globe, which we here present, you will find all the regions and islands as far as they have been seen, up to the present, and marked by our navigators, or have been seen and marked by the navigators of other nations, placed in their own proper position of longitude and latitude, with the greatest care and industry, which not only will be a source of pleasure to the students of geography but also of the greatest utility to those who visit far distant shores, which are warmed by another sun. And for their benefit we have also inserted the nautical rhombs (for so are designated the lines which show the direction of the winds). This labor of ours I hope and pray you will accept with as much gratitude as we have bestowed care upon it. Willem Caesius. In the year 1622.” A citation of all legends which the author has placed on his map would indeed fill many pages, and but few of these are here quoted.

Fig. 95. Terrestrial Globe of Willem Jansz. Blaeu, 1622.

In the southern hemisphere, and particularly conspicuous by reason of the artistic cartouch in which it is placed, we find a reference to the question of the proper location of the prime meridian,[40] somewhat lengthy but quoted here in full. “Quamvis longitudinis initium arbitrarium esset, ab occasu tamen ejus auspicium facere ideo veteribus placuit quod illic aliquis terrae limen esset, qui ortum versus nullis expeditionibus deprehendi potuisset. Atque eam ob causam Ptolemaeus (cujus sedulitati et industriae Geographiae incolumitatem omnes, vel inviti, debent) ab ultimo termino occidentis cognito, quae Insulae in Atlantico Mari Fortunatae dictae sunt, auspicium fecit in eisque primum Meridianum defixit: quod theticum principium deinceps fere omnes ejus auctoritate moti retinuerunt. Interim hoc seculo nonnulli hoc principium ex ipsa natura eruendum censuere. Qua in re acus Magneti junctae indicium sequendum sibi sumpserunt, eumque primum Meridianum statuunt quo in loco ea Boream spectat Quos plane allucinari addita illa Magneti vis convincit, penes quem nullum longitudinis arbitrium sit, cum is ipse sub eodem meridiano varium habeat enclisin prout huic aut illi continenti vicinus fuerit. Sed et illi ipsi qui ita sentiunt, ob instabile magnetis indicium, in primo Meridiano, multum inter se dissentiunt. Quamobrem ut summo Geographiae commodo, certus aliquis Meridianus tamquam primum principium servari et retineri possit, Ptolemaei vestigiis insistentes, easdem Insulas, et iis Junonem, quae Teneriffa vulgo creditur, delegimus, cujus excelsa illa et praerupta petra, perpetuis nebulis obsessa, Indigenis El Pico dicta, primi Meridiani terminus esto. Qua in re ab Arabum longitudinibus (qui extrema Africae littora versus occidentem delegerunt), vix unius gradus quadrante abimus diversi: quod quoque monuisse operae pretium putavi.” “Although the beginning of longitude is arbitrarily selected nevertheless it pleased the ancients to begin the counting of it from the west, because there was the limit of the earth, as some thought, while no expedition to the east was able to determine this. Therefore Ptolemy, to whose application and industry all men, even though unwilling to admit it, owe the preservation of geography (geographical science), made the location (of the beginning of longitude) in the farthest known limit of the west, which is called the Fortunate Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean, and in them he fixed the first meridian. This hypothetical beginning, almost all who came after him retained because of his influence. But in our century there are some who have said that this beginning should be taken from nature herself, and in this matter they have taken the indication of the magnetic needle as their guide, and fix the first meridian in that place in which the needle points to the true north: That this is clearly an error is proved by this additional (and peculiar) property of the magnetic needle, that on the same meridian it has a variation according as it is near to this or that continent. But the very men who think this, on account of the uncertainty of the variation, disagree much among themselves as to where the first meridian is to be located, and so for the highest good of geography, that this same fixed meridian as a first beginning may be marked and be retained, we ourselves, following in the steps of Ptolemy, have chosen the same islands as he, and from their number that one which is called Juno, or commonly Tenerif; of these (islands) that high and steep rock beset by perpetual clouds and called by the natives El Pico, shall for us be the location of the first meridian. In this matter, from the longitude of the Arabs, who selected the shore of Africa farthest toward the west, we vary scarcely the fourth part of a degree, and this I thought worthy to be noted.”

There is a brief but important legend near the Strait of Magellan reading, “Fretum Magellanicum, sic dictum a Ferdinando Magellano Lusitano, qui omnium primus id aperuit atque emensus est, anno 1520, Franciscus Draach et Thomas Candish, uterque anglus Fretum emensi sunt, ille anno 1579, hic anno 1587. Oliverius van Noorth et Georgius Speilbergius, uterque Belga annis 1600 et 1615.” “The Strait of Magellan, so called by Ferdinand Magellan a Portuguese who was the first to discover it and to sail through it in the year 1520, Francis Drake and Thomas Candish, both Englishmen, sailed through the strait, the one in the year 1579, the other in the year 1587. Oliver van Noort and George Spilbergen, both Belgians in the years 1600 and 1615.” Near the last-quoted legend we find “Fretum Le Maire a Wilhem Scouten Hernano et Jacobo Le Maire per eum inventum et lustratum A^o 1616.” “The Strait of Le Maire discovered and surveyed by Wilhem Scouten and Jacob Le Maire in the year 1616.” To the northwest in the Pacific we find “Magellanus ad insulas has delatus, cum in iis nec hominum ulla vestigia, nec quicquam humano usui opportunum invenisset, Infortunatus nuncupavit.” “Magellan came to these islands and finding in them no trace of man nor of anything suitable for human use called them the Unfortunate Islands.” Near New Guinea is the information recorded “Novissime detecta et lustrata est a Wilhelmo Scouten anno 1616.” “Very recently discovered and surveyed by Wilhelm Scouten in the year 1616.”

In the far north is a reference to the attempts made by numerous explorers to find a passage to the east by way of the north, reading, “Quemadmondum post apertum a Lusitanis iter illud ad regiones orientales, quod Promontorium Bonae Spei navigantes circumducit non defuere qui et ante Ferdinandum Magellanum, breviorem aliquam per Septentrionem Cauriumque ad easdem illas regiones opulentissimas ac toto orbe decantatus, Moluccas, indagarent viam: et nominatim quidem anno jam tum 1500, duobusque seqq. Gaspar et Michael Cortereales, fratres lusitani, et post eos anno 1507, Sebastianus Cabotus venetus: ita et post superatum jam a praedicto Magellano Fretum, quod de ejus nomine Magellanicum dicitur, extitere celebres aliquot praestantes naucleri, qui ne codem quidem itinere contenti, tum per easdem regiones septentrionales Caurique tractus, tum per Aquilonaria quoque Moscoviae Tartariaeque littora, idem tentaverint. Tales, ut alios nunc omittam, fruere anno 1553 Hugo Willoughbeus, Eques anglus, annis 1576 et 77 Martinus Forbisherus, et annis 1585, 86, 87 Ioannes Davisuis, uterque itidem anglus, item Guilijelmus Bernard et Ioannes Hugo Linschotanus, Batavi, annis 1594, 95 et 96. Quibus omnibus etsi, post incredibiles exantlatos labores, conatus non successissent, non destitere tamen Henricus Hudsonus, et ipse anglus ac post eum Batavi quidam Amsteredami emissi, eandem terram (quod dici solet) reciprocare. Is Hudsonus anno 1611, superato, ad Americae borealis oras, sub latitudinis 61, 62 et 63 gradu, ut indicat globus noster, praelongo freto, in exitu ejus engens ac late diffusum, invenit pelagus: cujus quidem detectio, multis spem addidit fore ut tandem inibi transitus aliquis inveniatur. Utrum vero huic spei eventus sit responsurus, propediem, quod vovemus, ipsum tempus ostendet.” “When the way had been opened by the Portuguese to the eastern regions which led the navigators round the Cape of Good Hope, there were some who said there was a way, even before Ferdinand Magellan, a shorter way by the north and the northwest to those opulent and world famous regions, the Moluccas. To name these, in 1500, the two brothers Miguel and Gaspar Cortereal, and after them in the year 1507 Sebastian Cabot a Venetian, and after the Strait had been navigated by the aforesaid Magellan, which is called the Strait of Magellan after him, there were certain famous and excellent navigators who, not content with a knowledge of this passage, attempted another both by the same northern and northwestern route and by the northern coasts of Moscovie and Tartary, among these, to omit others for the present, there were in the year 1553 Hugo Willoughby an English Knight: in the years 1576 and 1577 Martin Frobisher: in the years 1585, 86, 87 John Davis, both of the last named being Englishmen: also William Bernard and John Hugo Linschoten, Dutchmen, in the years 1594, 95, 96. Although none of these attempts, in spite of the Herculean labors, were successful, nevertheless Henry Hudson, himself an Englishman, and after him certain Dutchmen sent from Amsterdam, did not give up the attempts to find that land, as it was called. Hudson himself, in the year 1611, having navigated along the shore of North America in latitudes 61, 62, and 63, as our globe indicates, a very long inlet at its farthest extremity discovered an immense and far-stretching sea, the discovery of which gave hope to many that at last some outlet would be found therein. Whether the event would answer to this hope, and we pray it may, only time will tell.”[41] Somewhat nearer the pole we read “Anno 1594 et seqq. Illm̄orum D. D. Ordinum Foederatorum, anno vero 1596 Amplis^mi Senatus Amsterodamensis jussu atque auspiciis. Fortissimus Archithelassus Iacobus Heelmsterchius et cum eo pertissimus navarcha Guilijelmus Bernard filius uterque civis Amsterodamensis viam per Septentrionem ad regna Cathayae et Chinae indagaturi, cum littora Novae Zemlae usque ad gradum latitudinis 78 perlustrassent, neque immensis e glacie coacervatis montibus impedito, ulterius possent tendere, tertio postremoque itinere, quo loco casam a nobis expressam vides, hibernare coacti sunt.” “In the year 1594 and the following years, by the command and under the auspices of the illustrious Lords of the United Netherlands, and in the year 1596, under the auspices of the distinguished Senate of Amsterdam, the brave sea captain Jacob Heelmstrech, and with him the skilful navigator William Bernard’s son, both citizens of Amsterdam, sought passage by the north to the regions of Cathay and China. When they had passed the shore of Nova Zembla to latitude 78, without being stopped by the immense mountains of ice, and could have gone further, on this third and last journey they were compelled to pass the winter at the spot where you see a hut depicted by us.” In addition to the above legends we find such as “Hic anno 1611 H. Hudson hibernavit.” “Here in the year 1611 Henry Hudson passed the winter.” “Huc usque processit H. Hudson anno 1612.” “As far as this Henry Hudson came in the year 1612.” In the western part of North America, that is, in “Nova Albion,” there is a legend referring to the expedition of Francis Drake, reading, “Hoc loco ad latitu. 42 grad. appulsus Franciscus Dracus in gentem incidit prorsus indolatricam, et quod merito quis miretur ipso adeo mense Junio prae frigoris quam acerrime saevientis vi coactus est, terram hanc Novae Albionis nomine a se decoratam deserere.” “In this place, at latitude 42° Francis Drake came upon a tribe wholly idolatrous and what is justly to be wondered at, in the month of June he was compelled by the violence of the cold that raged here to desert this land of New Albion which he distinguished with its name.”[42]

The great inland sea appearing on the large world map of Jodocus Hondius of the year 1611 (Fig. [96]), and called “Mare Septentrionale Americae,” is here represented as “Lacus iste quantum ex accolis colligi potuit trecenta ut minimum miliaria in longitudinem pateat.” “This lake, as far as can be learned from the inhabitants, stretches at least three hundred miles in length.”[43]

Fig. 96. Section of Jodocus Hondius World Map, 1611.

This representation is of particular interest in connection with a grant to the London Company, as expressed in its charter of the year 1609 wherein the jurisdiction of the company is defined as extending “In that part of America called Virginia, from the point of land called Cape or Point Comfort, all along the sea coast, to the northward two hundred miles, and from the said point of Cape Comfort, all along the sea coast to the southward, two hundred miles, and all that space and circuit of land, lying from the sea coast of the precinct aforesaid up into the land, throughout from sea to sea, west and northwest.”[44] It is of further interest to note that on this globe of Blaeu there appears for the first time on a dated map the representation of Manhattan as an island.

The Osservatorio Astronomico, located near Florence, possesses a fine pair of Blaeu’s large globes, the terrestrial being signed, at the conclusion of the address to the reader, “Guiljelmus Blaeu” instead of “Guiljelmus Caesius,” as on The Hispanic Society’s copy, although as on this copy the signature “Guiljelmus Caesius anno 1622” appears on the celestial globe. The dedications of these Florentine examples read, “Serenissimo Potentissimoque Principi Ferdinando Secondo Magno Etruriae Duci, Domino Suo Clementissimo. Suos hosce Coelestem et Orbis Terrarum Globos accuratius pleniusque quam hanctenus descriptos editosque L. M. D. C. Q. Humillimus Cliens Guilielmus Blaeuw.” “To the Most Serene, Most Powerful Prince Ferdinand II, Prince of Etruria, his Most Clement Lord, these globes, both celestial and terrestrial, more carefully and more accurately depicted and edited than has been done previously, Willem Blaeu His Most humble client dedicates and consecrates.” It may here be noted that Ferdinand II was of the house of Medici and that he came to the throne in the year 1621.

A pair of Blaeu’s globes of 1622, signed “Guiljelmus Caesius,” belongs to the Biblioteca Comunale of Palermo, reported to be without mountings and otherwise in bad condition. Most of the terrestrial globe map is missing but there remains enough of each to determine their original likeness to the preceding pair.

In the archaeological section of the Biblioteca Gambalunghiana of Rimini there may be found a well-preserved pair, each dated 1622.

A terrestrial globe dated 1622, and a celestial clearly intended as its companion but dated 1616 and signed “Guilielmus Janssonius,” belong to the Biblioteca Barbarini of Rome. If correctly dated it is evident that Blaeu completed his work on this globe of large size in the same year that he completed his work on the smallest of all his globes, to which attention has been called above. These examples are in a fair state of preservation, having each a base consisting of a single column supported on the backs of two satyrs who are seated with hands upraised.

A pair of these globes of 1622 may be found in the Museo Civico of Venice with dedication differing from those which have been previously noted. On these globes we read, “Serenissimo Potentissimo Gustavo II ejus nomine Suedorum Gothorum, Vandalorum Regi et Principi hereditario, Magno Duci Finlandiae, Estmanniae, Westmanniaeque Domino Suo Clementissimo, Suos hosce coelestem et Ordis Terrarum Globos accuratius pleniusque quam hactenus descriptos L. M. D. C. Q. Humillimus Cliens Guiljelmus Caesius.” “To the Most Serene and Most Powerful Gustavus II, King and Hereditary Prince of the Swedes, Goths, and Vandals, the Mighty Ruler of Finland, Eastmania and Westmania, his Most Clement Lord, these his celestial and terrestrial globes more accurately and fully depicted and edited than previously, Willem Caesius, his humble client dedicates and consecrates.”

A copy of the 1622 celestial globe, signed “Guilielmus Caesius,” belongs to the Stadtbibliothek of Nürnberg, and a copy of the same, dedicated to Gustavus II of Sweden, is in the possession of Reichsgraf Hans von Oppersdorf in Oberglogau.

Eleven additional pairs of Blaeu’s globes, reprints, and reissues, not all agreeing in details, but alike in their main features, have been located. These belong to the years 1622-1640, having only an occasional record or date in legend to indicate, though indefinitely, the year of construction. A very brief reference to these editions here follows.

A pair may be found in the Osservatorio Astronomico of Bologna, somewhat damaged by neglect and careless handling. It seems probable, though the records are imperfect, that these are the globes referred to in an old catalogue of the Specola Library, and that they have been in the observatory since its founding in the year 1724.[45]

The Royal Estense Library of Modena is in possession of a well-preserved pair of Blaeu’s large globes, as the librarian has kindly informed the author.[46] Each is supplied with an artistic wooden base, with a meridian and a horizon circle, the whole being about 79 cm. in height. Each is furnished with a domelike cover of pasteboard, over the outside of which, and crossing at right angles, are two bands of carved leaves, and in each of the four spaces thus formed is a decoration consisting of the lily of the Royal House of France. It appears not to be known how or when these globes came to the Estense Library; perhaps as a gift to a prince of the Ducal House of Este, from a member of the House of Orleans, or they were purchased perchance by an Estense ambassador once having residence in Holland, as has been suggested.

Other undated pairs of the 1622 and 1640 issues may be found in the Seminario Vescovile of Chioggia, in the Museo di Strumenti Antichi of Florence, in the Biblioteca Governativo of Lucca, in the Biblioteca Nazionale of Naples, in the Biblioteca Chigi of Rome (Fig. [97]), in the Collegio delle Scuole Pie of Savona, in the Liceo Marco Foscarini of Venice (Fig. [98]), in the Pinacoteca Quirini of Venice, and in the private library of Count Francesco Franco of Venice. A copy of the terrestrial only may be found in the Biblioteca Comunale of Como, in the Königl. Math. Phys. Salon in Dresden, in the Istituto Tecnico of Florence, in the Biblioteca delle Misione Urbane of Genoa, in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum of Nürnberg, and a copy of the eighteen unmounted terrestrial globe gores, probably of the year 1647, in the British Museum. A copy of the celestial globe only may be found in the Biblioteca Civico of Aquila in the Königl. Math. Phys. Salon of Dresden, and one in the British Museum, which is reported, however, to have a diameter of only twenty-four inches.

Fig. 97. Terrestrial Globe of Willem Jansz. Blaeu, 1622.

Fig. 98. Celestial Globe of Willem Jansz. Blaeu, 1622.

Fig. 98a. Terrestrial Globe of Willem Jansz. Blaeu, ca. 1640.

Fig. 98b. Celestial Globe of Willem Jansz. Blaeu, ca. 1640.

The Biblioteca Barbarini of Rome possesses four armillary spheres, all appearing to be of the early seventeenth century. A description of two of these, neither signed nor dated, it has not been possible to obtain; two are the work of J. Paolo Ferreri, the one constructed in the year 1602 according to the brief record “Jo. Paulus Ferrerius f. f. an. 1602,” and the other in the year 1624 being inscribed “F^co gio. Paulo Ferreri Ro^no ano 1624.” Professor Uzielli has given to the author the information that these are of brass, having each a graduated horizon circle supported by four half circles which in turn rest on a single brass column. Through this horizon circle passes an adjustable meridian circle 39 cm. in diameter, which is graduated and which supports other movable circles, such as the colures carrying the polar circles, the tropics, which are graduated, and the ecliptic, a broad band inclined 23½ degrees to the equator, likewise graduated and engraved with the names of the months and of the constellations of the zodiac. Within the circles of each of these spheres, placed at what may be called their common center, is a small solid sphere to serve as a representation of a terrestrial globe but without geographical details. There appear to be but slight differences in the construction of these two armillary spheres, the one of 1624 having certain circles which are slightly smaller than are the corresponding ones on that of earlier date. From the same source it is learned that the artist, Tito Lessi of Florence, possesses an armillary sphere signed and dated “Lud: ^s Sem: ^s Bon: Fac: A. D. MDCXII,” near which is a representation of a coat of arms with a dragon. The sphere is of brass, the diameter of its greatest circle being 63 cm. We know nothing of the Ludovico referred to as the maker, but who, as is noted, was a Bolognese. The same artist, as we are informed, likewise possesses another unsigned and undated armillary sphere which presumably is of the early seventeenth century.

Peter Plancius (1552-1622), a native of Drane-outer, West Flanders, is especially remembered as a militant theologian (Fig. [99]) and as one of the most influential men active in the shaping of the colonial policy of the States of the Netherlands in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. His was indeed a stormy career wherein it touched the Reformation movements. In early life a monk, he later became an ardent reformer supporting the Calvinistic faith. After passing some years in Germany and in England in study, he became, in the year 1578, a pastor in the city of Brussels. When persecution threatened him, he fled, in the year 1585, to Amsterdam, where he again became a pastor, exerting for many years a far-reaching influence in matters touching the relations of the reform movements and the state. Plancius, however, was not only learned in matters theological, he was interested, as stated above, in Dutch colonial enterprise, was a geographer, and a map and globe maker of great distinction. He in part planned and actively supported the Dutch expeditions of Barents, Hemskerken, Linschoten, and Le Maire, who undertook to find new routes to the Indies, both East and West. He assisted in the organization of the East India Company, which company made large contributions to the commercial prosperity of the Netherlands.[47] He was instrumental, with his countryman, William Usselinx, and others, in organizing the West India Company.[48] He took an active part in the planting of New Amsterdam in the New World, and in the establishment of Batavia in Java. He was counselor for twenty-five years in practically all matters pertaining to the welfare of the peoples of the Netherlands.

Fig. 99. Portrait of Peter Plancius.

As map maker Plancius appears to have begun his activities shortly after taking up a residence in Amsterdam. His great world map in two hemispheres, one of his first productions, and one which may in part have served Blaeu and Hondius in the preparation of their masterpieces, of the years 1605 and 1611, respectively, was issued in the year 1592, a unique copy of which belongs to the Collegio del Corpus Christi of Valencia.[49] This map, bearing the title “Nova et exacta terrarum orbis tabula geographica ac hydrographica,” is composed of eighteen sheets, which, when joined, give a world map measuring 146 by 233 cm. Blundeville makes interesting reference to this map under the following caption: “A Plaine and full Description of Petrus Plancius his vniuersall Mappe, seruing both for Sea and Land, and by him lately put forth in the yeere of our Lord 1592. In which Mappe are set downe many more places, as well of both the Indies, as Afrique, together with their true Longitudes and Latitudes, than are to be found either in Mercator his Mappe, or in any other Moderne Mappe whatsoeuer: And this Mappe doth show what Riches, Power, or Commodities, as what kind of Beasts both wild and tame, what Plants, Fruits, or Mines any Region hath, and what kinds of Merchandize do come from euery Region. Also the diuers Qualities and Manners of the People, and to whom they are subiect. Also who be the most mightie and greatest Princes of the World: A Mappe meet to adorne the House of any Gentleman or Merchant, that delighteth in Geographie: and herewith this Booke is also meete to be bought, for that it plainely expoundeth euery thing contained in the said Mappe.”[50] Blundeville notes further that Plancius drew another map of the whole earth in two hemispheres, employing the polar projection. He does not give the date of this map, but it presumably was issued shortly after that of 1592. A Plancius world map in two hemispheres, bearing title “Orbis terrarum typus de integro multis in locis amendatus, auctore Petro Plancio 1594,” appears in the account of Linschoten’s expedition of 1599.[51] It is a well-drawn map, containing much valuable geographical data. Like Mercator, Hondius, and Blaeu, Plancius also undertook the construction of globes. Of these the oldest known appears to have been begun as early as the year 1612, the date appearing in the following dedication, “Nobilissimis Amplissimis Consultissimis ac Prudentissimis Dominis Consulariis Thalassiarchis atque Thalatto Oratoribus Hollandiae Zelandiae et Frisiae occidentalis nec non Magnificis ac Clarissimis Dominis Consulibus praeclarissimi Emporii Amstelodami, Petrus Kaerius humillimus cliens L. M. Q. dat, dicat, dedicat. Anno 1612.” “To the Most Noble, Exalted, Learned and Prudent Consular Lords and Orators Maritime of Holland, Zeeland and West Friesland, also to the Great and Distinguished Lords Counselors of the Renowned Emporium of Amsterdam, Peter Kaerius their humble client gives and dedicates (this globe). In the year 1612.” Below the legend is engraved “Petrus Kaerius excudit ann. 1614,” the date here given clearly indicating the year of issue. Not far from the dedicatory legend appears the following: “Ipsa experientia peritos Naucleros docuit volubiles libellas magnetis virtute infectas in Insulis Corvi et Florum Mundi polos recte respicere: idcirco ibi, taquam a communi Mundi Magn. Meridiano Logitud. justis de causis initum sumunt Petrus Kaerius et Abrahamus Goos patrueles sculptores.” “Experience itself has taught skilful mariners that loose leaves when under the electrical influence, in the islands of Corvo and Flores, turn directly toward the poles of the world, and for this reason it is here, as a common magnetic meridian of the world, that Peter Kaerius and Abraham Goos his cousin, engravers, locate with reason the beginning of longitude.” The customary address to the reader, though here not so designated, reads, “In hujus nostri Globi delineatione ubique castigatissimas Tabulas Hydrographicas ac Geographicas sequuti sumus, quibus Germani, Hispani, Galli, Itali, Angli, Scoti, Dani, Norvegi, Suedi nec non et navigationibus utuntur: ad quae omnia comparanda nulli nec labori nec sumptui pepercimus: ventorum quoque regimmes ad usum navigantium admussim accomodavimus: quemadmodum artis periti, proprius inspiciendo, reperient. Vale ac frere. Petrus Plancius.” “In the delineation of this our globe, we have everywhere followed the most correct hydrographic and geographic tables which the Germans, Spaniards, French, Italians, English, Scotch, Danes, Norwegians and Swedes use in their voyages. In doing this we have spared no labor nor expense. The directions of the winds (loxodromic lines) we have laid down with great exactness for the use of sailors, as those experienced in navigation will see on close inspection. Farewell and be happy. Peter Plancius.” This gives us definitely to understand that this terrestrial globe was the work of Plancius.

The sphere is covered with a world map engraved on twelve gores, truncated at latitude 70 degrees, the polar spaces being covered by the usual circular discs, each having in this case a radius of twenty degrees.

On his celestial globe, probably issued at the same time as the terrestrial just referred to, and intended as a companion of the same, having the same dimensions, we find the following legend: “In hac coelesti sphaera stellae affixae majore quam hactenus numero ac accuratiore industria delineantur. Novos Asterismos in philomathēom gratiam de integro addidi: quae omnia secundum Astronomorum Principis Tychonis Brahe, ac meam observationem verae suae Longitudinis ac Latitudinis ad annum Christi 1615 restitui. Petrus Plancius.” “In this celestial sphere the fixed stars to a greater number than previously and with more exactness are depicted. I have added for the use of the student some entirely new star readings according to the prince of astronomers Tycho Brahe, and also my own observations of their true latitude and longitude adapting these to the year of Christ 1615. Peter Plancius.” It then will be noted that the position of the stars located thereon is computed to the year 1615. In the southern hemisphere is a portrait of Tycho Brahe with the inscription “D. Tyco Brahe Summ. Mathematic,” below which is the legend “Tabula continens quantum quovis proposito anno vel addendum vel demendum sit Lōgitudini affixarum: nam hae 70 annorum et 5 mensis spacio unicum gradū secundū signorū ordinē, super Pol. Zod. progrediuntur.” “Table indicating how much for any given year is to be added to or to be subtracted from the longitude of the fixed stars. For these in the space of 70 years and 5 months move one degree reckoned on the signs of the zodiac.” But one pair of Plancius’ globes can now be located, this pair having been acquired a few years since for the Museo Astronomico of Rome (Fig. [100]). They are reported to be in excellent condition. The spheres are of wood covered with plaster, having a diameter of about 21 cm., upon which the gores have been pasted. Wind roses are numerous, from which the usual direction or loxodromic lines radiate. Ships and sea monsters add to the decoration of the terrestrial globe map, and the figures of the several constellations have been artistically drawn. Each globe is furnished with a wooden base, having its horizon circle supported by four columns which are joined below by crossbars. Each has a brass meridian circle within which the globe is adjusted to revolve.

Fig. 100. Terrestrial Globe of Peter Plancius, 1614.

Fiorini reports information received from Gabriel Marcel of the Bibliothèque Nationale and Captain F. v. Ortroy that there may be found in the Stein Museum of Antwerp a terrestrial globe of copper, neither signed nor dated, but which is thought to be the work of Peter Plancius.[52] Additional information concerning this globe has not been obtainable.

Isaac Habrecht (1589-1633), physician and mathematician, was a native of Strassburg, where he passed the greater part of his life.[53] Incidental references to him assure that he was regarded in his day as a man of much ability. Among his publications, not numerous but scholarly, reference here may be made to his ‘Tractatum de planiglobio coelesti & terrestri,’ issued in Latin in the year 1628, and again in the year 1666 in both Latin and German, by Johann Christoph Sturm of Nürnberg.[54] In this work Habrecht describes his terrestrial and celestial globes, constructed, it appears, a few years previous to the issue of the publication.

The Hispanic Society of America possesses a fine example of what appears to be his first terrestrial globe (Fig. [101]). It is undated, but internal evidence assures us that it was not constructed prior to the year 1612. Near the Arctic circle and north of the representation of Hudson’s Bay we read “Huc usque retrocesserunt Amstelodamenses anno 1612.” “At this point the Amsterdam (explorers) turned about in the year 1612.” His first celestial globe, referred to below, seems clearly to be of the year 1619, and there is reason for placing his first terrestrial globe in the same year, since, in their size, and in many of their general features there is agreement. The globe ball of wood has a diameter of 20 cm. Its horizon circle, which has pasted on its upper surface the usual information relative to the names of the months, to the principal directions, and to the signs of the zodiac, is supported by four turned legs joined below by crossing bars, these bars in turn supporting a carved circular disc with a raised center through a slot in which the meridian circle is made to pass. The whole is indeed a remarkably well-preserved example of Habrecht’s work.

Fig. 101. Terrestrial Globe of Isaac Habrecht, 1625.

In an artistic cartouch to the south of the East Indian Islands and within “Terra Australis” is the following signed dedication: “Perillustri et Generossissimo Dn^o Dn^o Eberardo Dynaste in Rappolstein. Hohenaccio et Geroltzeccio ad Vogasinum Divi Mathiae II Imp. nec non Sereniss. Maximiliani Archiducis Austriae. P. M. Camerario et Citeriorum Ordinum Provincialium Praesidi Magnifico: ex antiqua Ducā Spoleti familia oriundo: Domino meo Clementissi^o Triplicem hunc globum: Coelestem scilicet: convexum et concavum et hunc terrestrem novissimae editionis et correctionis. D. D. D. Isaacus Habrect Phil. et med. d. Argentinensis.” “To the Most Illustrious and Most Generous Lord Eberhardt Ruler in Ruppelstein, Hohenau and Geroldseck in the Vosges, Divine Emperor Matties II and also the Most Serene Maximilian Archduke of Austria, the Exalted President of the Provincial Orders of the Cameria, and those on this side of the mountains, sprung from the Ancient Ducal Family of Spoleto, my Most Gracious Lord, this triple globe, that is celestial, convex and concave terrestrial, corrected according to the latest information, gives and dedicates Isaac Habrecht, philosopher and physician of Strassburg.” In the northern part of North America is a legend referring to the expeditions of Davis, Schouten, and Le Maire reading, “Versus Articum polum ulterior transgressus hactenus ab Herculis licet Davis Angli labore id examinatus fuerit sicut et circa antarcticum fretum noviter a Guilielmo Schout detectum Le Maire nuncupatum extremus adhuc navigationum est terminus. Quamvis nullus dubitet maxima totius orbis magnalia sub polis delitescere quorum detectionem forsitan summus Deus suo tempore reservat. Typis Jacop. ab Heyden Argentinae.” “Toward the Arctic pole the last voyage up to the present was made, with Herculean labors, by Davis an Englishman. Around the Antarctic a strait has lately been discovered by William Schouten and named Le Maire, and this, up to the present, is the extreme limit of navigation, although no one doubts that the greatest wonders of all the world lie hidden under the poles, the discovery of which, it may be that Almighty God reserves for his own time. Printed by Jacob von Heyden of Strassburg.” It is probable that the Jacob von Heyden here referred to was a relative of Christian Heyden of Nürnberg, mathematician and globe maker of renown.[55] Below the legend last quoted is a brief one reading, “America septentrionalis a Christoforo Colombo 1492 detecta.” “North America discovered by Christopher Columbus in the year 1492.” This appears to have been quoted from the Hondius globe of the year 1618. The austral continent is referred to as “Terra Australis incognita,” and near New Guinea is inscribed the following, likewise quoted from Hondius: “Sic dicta quod ejus littora locorūqȝ Guineae Affricanae multum sint similia. Dicitur a nonnullis Terra de Piccinaculi; et sit ne insula an pars continentis Australis incertum est.” “So called because its shores are much like those of African Guinea. It is called by some the land of Piccinaculi: and it is uncertain whether it is an island or a part of the Australian continent.”

A considerable number of brief legends appear upon different parts of the globe map, each having a local significance. In coloring the map attention was given to the representation of territorial boundaries which gives an added interest to the globe. The “Meridianus Primus” is made to pass through the Island of Corvo, and other meridians are drawn at intervals of ten degrees. The loxodromic lines, as on the Hondius globes, are made a conspicuous feature of the map, having their crossing centers at longitudes 0°, 90°, 180°, and 270° on the equator, and on the prime meridian at latitude 35° both north and south, as well as at the same latitude on the opposite side of the sphere, where the prime meridian becomes the meridian of 180°. Habrecht appears to have followed somewhat closely the globes of Hondius for his geographical data.

In addition to the Habrecht terrestrial globe in The Hispanic Society’s collection, two other copies are known, which likewise are undated. One of these belongs to the Biblioteca Comunale of Sondrio, and the other to the Archivo Municipale of Asti.

Of the celestial globes of Habrecht four copies have been located; one being in the Biblioteca Comunale of Sondrio, in a good state of preservation; one in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum of Nürnberg, wanting, however, the original mounting, having its map engraved, as stated in a legend, by Jacob von Heyden et Johann Christoph Weigel; one in the Biblioteca Comunale of Asti; one in the Royal Museum of Cassel.

It is strikingly evident that Habrecht followed in the main the work of Willem Jansz. Blaeu, and Jodocus Hondius for his celestial globes. As the year 1619 was selected as the one in which star positions were to be recorded, it is probable, as intimated above, that these globes were constructed in that year. Each of the globes referred to is reported as retaining the brilliant coloring which had been laid on by hand.

Garcia de Céspedes, writing in 1606,[56] calls attention to a globe, concerning which nothing farther is known, referring to it as a “Globillo que hizo en Portugal aquel grau Piloto que se emborrachana cuyo nombre no me acuerdo.” “A small globe constructed in Portugal by a great pilot, whose name is unknown, but who was a great drunkard.”

In the year 1893 Baron Nordenskiöld presented to the Royal Geographical Society a facsimile in gores of a globe map, which fact is noted in that society’s Journal. The globe is one of silver, bearing the author and date legend “Johann Hauer. 1620.” The record tells of its having been presented in the year 1632 to Gustavus Adolphus and that it is now one of the treasures of the National Museum of Stockholm. The engraved map is of the Hondius or the Mercator type presenting in the main the best geographical knowledge of the time. Its many legends are in the Latin language; the lettering, though small, is easily legible. The engraver has adorned the seas with ships and with such marine animals as are frequently to be found in the maps of the period.[57]

It has been previously noted that the employment of engraved gore maps in globe construction was not received with general favor in Italy in the sixteenth century, although Mercator’s globes were copied to some extent, as were those of De Mongenet. Toward the close of the century, the preference for manuscript globes, or for engraved bronze or copper globes seems gradually to have yielded to a belief in the more practical method of construction which had established itself in the North. Originality, however, does not appear to have been a striking feature of Italian endeavor in this method of globe making. There was an occasional manifestation of independence and individuality, it is true, but in general there was a disposition to copy, and the early seventeenth century furnishes us an example in the reissue by Giuseppe de Rossi of the work of Jodocus Hondius, but without credit, as has been previously observed.

Among those who attained distinction in Italy in the first half of the seventeenth century in the construction of globes having engraved gore maps, may be named Mattheus Greuter. He was born in Strassburg in the year 1556, where he learned designing and engraving. In early life he went to Lyons in France where he carried on his work, but later he removed to Avignon, adding to his art in this city that of type cutting. We next find him in Rome, busily engaged in the work of engraving, in which he had become exceedingly proficient, winning for himself a high place among the Italian artists of his day. Map engraving, we learn, early claimed his attention, and among his masterpieces in this field may be mentioned a large map of Italy. Of this work no copy is at present known, but it is thought that it probably served Magini as a model for his “Italia” which was published in the year 1620. It could not have been long after he had taken up his residence in Rome, where he became a naturalized citizen, that he began the preparation of his first terrestrial globe, which he issued in the year 1632. So well did he perform his work that he is entitled to rank with the leading globe makers of the Netherlands.

An excellent example of this first issue may be found in the Museum of The Hispanic Society of America (Fig. [102]), this being one of the most valuable in its large collection. It has a diameter of 50 cm., and is mounted on a wooden base having four feet, which, though evidently very old, is clearly not the original base. It is furnished with a narrow wooden horizon circle which is not graduated, and the calendar and other representations, which one usually finds pasted on this circle in early globes, are entirely wanting. The meridian circle of iron, likewise, is not graduated, and like the wooden base is not a part of the original mounting. The sphere itself is remarkably well preserved, there being scarcely a noticeable injury to its surface save the slight discoloration of age. The engraved gore map covering the papier-mâché ball, which is of very light construction, is composed of twelve sections, or rather of twenty-four, since each of the sections is cut at the equator, and the poles are covered with small circular discs.

Fig. 102. Terrestrial Globe of Mattheus Greuter, 1632.

In the south Atlantic and near the great southern continent, in a neat cartouch surmounted by the coat of arms of the Boncompagni family of Bologna, is the following dedication: “Illustrissimo et Excellentissimo Principi D. Iacobo Boncompagno Sorae Arcisque Duci Marchioni Vignolae Aquini Comiti Dno suo colendissimo. Mattheus Greuter Humill. obseqii ergo. D. D.” “To the Most Illustrious and Excellent Prince Lord Jacob Boncompagni, Duke of Sora and Arce, Marquis of Vignola and Count of Aquino, his Most Worshipful Lord Mattheus Greuter with humble obedience dedicates (this globe).” Iacopo Boncompagni, to whom Greuter dedicated his work, belonged to a famous family of Bologna.[58] He was born in Sora in the year 1613 and died in the year 1636. It was his great-grandfather, Hugo, who, in the year 1572, at the age of seventy, became Pope Gregory XIII, and who immortalized himself through his reform of the calendar. Iacopo, the grandfather of that member of the family to whom Greuter dedicated his globe, was in position, at the time of the elevation of his father to the Papacy, to have bestowed upon him great honors and riches. He was nominated Castellan of St. Angelo, and shortly thereafter, receiving the title General of the Holy Church, was sent to Ancona with a commission to defend the maritime regions of the papal states. He was soon thereafter admitted to the nobility of Rome, of the Kingdom of Naples, and of Venice. Through the riches of the Papacy he was able to purchase from Alfonso II of Este the Marquisate of Vignola for seventy-five thousand Roman scudi, the Duchy of Sora and of Arce from the Duke of Urbino for one hundred and ten thousand ducats, and the lands of Arpino and Roccasecca, together with the County of Aquino from Alfonso of Avalon, Marquis of Guasto, for one hundred and forty thousand ducats.

In the austral continent, and on the opposite side of the globe to that on which the dedication is placed is an address to the reader which is inscribed in a neat cartouch, reading “In ista quam exhibemus terreni globi descriptione omnium regionum iuxta et insularum quotquot hactenus ab Argonautis tam Lusitaniae quam aliarum gentium Naucleris visae et notatae loca in suo secundū longitudinem et latitudinem situ sum̄a sedulitate et industria disposita invenies quae res non solum Geographiae studiosis jucūda, verum etiam ijs, qui terras longe dissitas et sub alio sole calentes frequentent, maxime utilis futura est. Hūc igitur laborem nostrum ut tam gratis animis acceptatis sedulitate a nobis est obitus ex aequo omnes rogatos volo. Mattheus Greuter auctor. Excudit Roma Anno MDCXXXII.” “On this globe which we exhibit, you will find all the regions and islands as far as they have hitherto been seen and noted by navigators of Portugal and of other nations, set down in their proper positions of latitude and longitude with the greatest care and industry. This will be pleasing not only to students of geography but it will be especially useful to those who visit far distant lands (which are) warmed by another sun. I hope therefore that all those whom I ask will accept this labor of ours with as much gratitude as we have employed care upon it. Matthew Greuter maker. Made in Rome in the year 1632.” This address agrees with that on the Blaeu terrestrial globe of 1622 except that Blaeu wrote “vel etiam ab aliarum gentium ...,” whereas Greuter writes “tam Lusitaniae quam aliarum gentium ...,” and Blaeu inserted a reference to the loxodromes he had drawn on his map, which loxodromes Greuter, omitting, had therefore no occasion for such reference. In the inscription referring to the prime meridian, Greuter again borrowed from Blaeu with scarcely an alteration, as he did in his reference to recent discoveries made for the purpose of finding a way to the East by the North. Blaeu’s legend in the vicinity of the Tiborone Island, that near the Cape of Good Hope, and that near the Strait of Magellan were all copied literally by Greuter, and likewise that referring to the Le Maire Strait.

Greuter employed, in general, for the names of the regions of the Old World and for the seas, the Latin language, though he wrote “Mar del Nort” for the Atlantic and “Mar del Zur” for the Pacific. For the names of the New World he used the Spanish or the Portuguese, but occasionally the English, the French, the Dutch, or the language native to the region bearing the name. For the names of the cities he generally employed the language of the country or the Italian language.

Numerous ships are represented sailing the seas, and the pictures of sea monsters are many. A few wind roses adorn the map, but, as before stated, loxodrome lines, regarded in general at that time as of great importance to sailors who had occasion to make use of the chart or the globe, were omitted by Greuter.

Hudson Bay, which is left nameless, is represented without a definite coast line in the north, but through a wide and extended channel it opens into “Fretum Davis.” The St. Lawrence River appears to drain a lake, which may be taken from its location to be Lake Ontario; but the remaining four Great Lakes appear as one great inland sea with an outlet of somewhat uncertain character northward toward Hudson Bay. The geographical representations in this region are of special historical interest, as are indeed the geographical records in the several sections of North America, particularly in the South and the West.

As a companion to the terrestrial globe of the year 1632, Greuter prepared a celestial globe of the same dimensions, and with similar mountings, which he issued in the year 1636. He gives due credit, in one of his legends, to Tycho Brahe and to Willem Blaeu as sources of information for his representation of the stars and the several constellations, following, in particular, Blaeu’s globe of 1622. His explanatory legend reads “In hoc coelesti Globo notantur omnes stellae fixie an annum 1636 accom̄odatae q̄ iuxta observationē Nob. viri Tychonis Brahe, in max̄ illo Iansonii, an̄o 1622 edito, positae sunt additis stellis q̄ à peritiss^o nauclero Petro Theod: circa Pol. Aust. notatae sū novisque Asterismis et stellis min. apparētib’, ab aliis sum̄ studio observatis, omnia in Philomatico gratia copiosa delineata. Romae, 1636, M. Greuter.” “In this celestial globe are noted all the fixed stars accommodated to the year 1636, which are placed (on the map) according to the observations of the noble Tycho Brahe in that great (work) of Jansson (Blaeu), edited in the year 1622, to which are added the stars noted by the skilful navigator Peter Theodori around the south pole and the new and less apparent stars observed by others with great zeal. All these have been represented for the use of the student. At Rome, 1636. M. Greuter.” As to how much he thought should be added to or subtracted from the longitude of the fixed stars each year, to the end of taking due note of the precession of the equinoxes, he copied Plancius literally. The equatorial circle, the tropics, the polar circles, the equinoxes, the solstitial colures, the ecliptic, and twelve meridians are all represented. The constellations include the Ptolemaic, with the addition of those recently discovered and named in the southern hemisphere. The figures of the several constellations are well drawn, having their names in Latin or in Arabic, and are artistically colored in most of the copies of the globe known.

Greuter’s globes all appear to have been made in the same size, and they have the same general construction, with the exceptions noted below.

A pair of these globes, that is, of the terrestrial, of the year 1632 and the celestial of 1636, may be found in the following public and private libraries and museums in addition to those above mentioned: Scuole Comunale of Ancona; in the Biblioteca Comunale of Bologna; in the Biblioteca Comunale of Camarino; in the Seminario Vescovile of Carpi; in the Biblioteca Comunale and also in the Museo Agabiti of Fabriano; in the Biblioteca Comunale of Ferrara; in the Biblioteca di Santa Maria Nuova of Florence; in the Biblioteca Comunale of Gubbio; in the Biblioteca Governativo of Lucca; in the Biblioteca Capitolari of Reggio; in the Museo Astronomico, also in the Biblioteca Chigi and the Biblioteca Vittorio Emanuele of Rome; in the Biblioteca Comunale of Sanseverino; in the Biblioteca Gonzaga of Mantua; in the Biblioteca Universitario of Messina; in the Biblioteca Nazionale of Milan; in the Museo Civico of Modena; in the Museo di Fisica and also in the Seminario Vescovile of Padua; in the Biblioteca Palatina of Parma and a pair in the possession of Joseph Baer & Company of Frankfurt, 1914. A copy of the terrestrial globe of the year 1632, in addition to the one described above as belonging to The Hispanic Society of America, may be found in the Biblioteca Comunale of Bassano; in the Ateneo of Brescia; in the Museo di Fisica of Catania; in the Archivo di Stato of Venice. In private libraries copies of these globes may be found in the possession of the General Antonio Gandolfi of Bologna; of Sr. P. Marezio Bazolle, once belonging to the Counts of Piloni of Belluno; of Professor Luigi Bailo of Treviso; of Sr. D. Luigi Belli of Genga. A copy of the celestial globe of the year 1636 may be found in the Biblioteca Comunale of Serra S. Quirico, and also a copy in the library of Mr. W. B. Thompson of Yonkers, N. Y.

It does not appear that Greuter himself issued other editions of his globes. His death occurred in the year 1638, and in this same year what may be called a second edition of his globes of the years 1632 and 1636, having the same dimensions, was offered to the public. It has been noted above that one Giuseppe de Rossi of Milan reprinted in Rome, in the year 1615, the Hondius terrestrial and celestial globes of 1601, making but slight alterations in the same but giving the impression that he was the original author. It was perhaps a near relative of this Milanese engraver and printer, Giovanni Battista de Rossi, who in the year 1638 reprinted in Rome the Greuter globes with but few changes, none of which can be considered of special import save the introduction of his own name as printer instead of that of Greuter. It may, however, be noted that both globes are dated 1636, that below the Tropic of Capricorn on the terrestrial globe is the legend “Si stampa da Gio Bat̄ta de Rossi Milanese in Piazza Navona. Roma,” and that the title legend of the celestial reads “In hac coelesti sphaera stellae fixae majori quam hactenus numero et accuratiori industria delineantur novis Asterismis in Philomaticom̄ gratiam de integro additis: quae omnia secundum Astronomorum Principis Tychonis Brahe et aliorum observationem verae suae longitudini ac latitudini ad annum Christi 1636 restituta sunt. Romae Matteus Greuter exc. 1636.” “In this celestial globe are shown the fixed stars in greater number than previously, and with greater care and industry, the new constellations being added for the sake of the student. All these, according to the observations of the Prince of Astronomers, Tycho Brahe, and likewise the observations of others, have been assigned to their proper latitude and longitude for the year of Christ 1636. Made at Rome by Mattheus Greuter 1636.”

A pair of these globes of the second edition may be found in the private library of Cav. Giampieri-Carletti of Piticchio in the Marche; in a private library of Ancona (owner unknown); in the Seminario Vescovile of Toscanella. A copy of the terrestrial globe may be found in the Seminario Vescovile of Macerata; and of the celestial in the library of Count Francesco Conestabile of Perugia.

The Hispanic Society of America has in its collection a unique globe which is clearly the work of Mattheus Greuter (Fig. [103]), although issued by Giovanni Battista de Rossi, as is attested by the legend, “Si Stampa da Gio Batta de Rossi Milanese in Piazza Navona Roma.” This legend, appearing in a neat cartouch, occupies the same position in the southern hemisphere, near the prime meridian, as that in which one finds the dedication of his first issue, but that part of the cartouch in the earlier issue showing the coat of arms of the Boncompagni family is here left blank. The title of the first issue is repeated save in the concluding words. Here we read “In iste quam exhibimus ... Mattheus Greuter auctor. Excudit Romae 1638.” Other legends, such as those in the northern part of North America beginning, “Post apertum a Lusitanis ...,” that southeast of Africa beginning, “Quam longitudinis initium ...,” and the briefer ones referring to the discovery of the Cape of Good Hope, to the expedition of Schouten, and to that of Magellan, are identical in the two editions. It, however, is to be noted that many of the briefer legends appearing in the first edition are wanting in this of the year 1638, and that in the latter the place names are greatly reduced in number. It is further particularly worthy of note that the North American continent in this later issue is very much altered in its outline. California appears as an island, “Insula California,” and is separated from the great northwestern section of North America, which is likewise represented, though somewhat doubtfully, as an island, by the “Stretto di Anian,” while the “Estreito de Jeso” separates the New World from Asia. The globe ball has a diameter of 26 cm. Its mounting is of wood. It has a broad horizon circle, on which are the representations of the signs of the zodiac, the calendar, the Roman and the Italian names of the winds or directions appearing in concentric circles, the whole being supported on a base consisting of four exquisitely carved and rather heavy support columns which are joined below by carved cross bracings. Its meridian circle is a comparatively recent and very clumsy substitute of wood for the original which doubtless was of brass. It is very seldom that one finds a globe of a date so early as is this which is so well preserved. The engraved map has the freshness of a new and unused print, excepting a very slight yellow tinge which is the contribution of age. On this globe map may be found one of the earliest attempts to give boundary lines to territorial divisions in the New World such as “Virginia,” “La Florida,” “Nuovo Mexico,” “N. Amsterdam,” “N. Suetia.”

Fig. 103. Terrestrial Globe of Mattheus Greuter, 1638.

Fig. 103a. Terrestrial Globe of Dominico Rossi (Mattheus Greuter), 1695.

Fig. 103b. Celestial Globe of Dominico Rossi (Mattheus Greuter), 1695.

Attention has previously been called to the reproduction in Italy of the Hondius globes by Giuseppe de Rossi in the year 1615. It appears that to the Rossi family belonged a number of map engravers and art printers during the seventeenth century and particularly to that branch making its home in the city of Rome. As globe makers we however find them playing the rôle of copyists rather than that of independent producers.

In The Hispanic Society’s collection of old globes may be found a pair in an excellent state of preservation signed “Dominici de Rubeis (Rossi),” and dated “1695.” Each globe ball is composed of papier-mâché, having a diameter of 49 cm. and each is covered with a map printed on twelve gores, with a small circular disc for the polar space (Figs. [103a], [103b]). In the List of Globe Makers other examples are noted.

In the South Pacific, on the terrestrial globe, one finds the inscription “Romae ex Chalcographia Dominici de Rubeis, heredis 70. Jacobi, ad templum S. Mariae de Pace, Anno 1695.” Dominico, whose name here appears, achieved considerable distinction as the publisher, with his relative Giovanni Giacomo de Rossi, of an atlas of one hundred and fifty-two maps, one of the finest examples of Italian cartography of the period. In a cartouch in the South Atlantic, on this globe, we find the name Mattheus Greuter given as the engraver, whose work has been referred to above, clearly suggesting that Rossi had merely reissued a globe of earlier date, since Greuter had died in the year 1638. A careful examination of the globe map confirms the suggestion, since no record is made of geographical discoveries after the year 1630. In the region of the North Pole the discoveries of the English and of the Dutch are recorded to the year 1628, and it may further be noted that in this same northern region the islands of “Frislanda” and “Brasil” are laid down, while in Greenland is a reference to the location of the fabled Monastery of St. Thomas.

References are made in legends to the discoveries of Magellan, Lemaire, Schouten, Frobisher, Davis, Hudson, and Drake. The region about New York is called “Nieu Nederland.” One can recognize the representation of the St. Lawrence, and the Mississippi. In the western region of the New World there appears to be considerable confusion as to the geography of the country, apparently the result of reading, without understanding, the records of the Spanish and of the English. One finds, for example, California represented as an island, and a double representation of the Strait of Anian.

The Spanish, French, English, Dutch, and Latin languages have been employed in names and legends.

The mounting of the globe is artistic and substantial, consisting of the usual horizon circle, octagonal on its outer edge, but circular on the inner edge to receive the globe ball, and having pasted on its upper surface the usual engraved paper strips and all that there is engraved thereon in the best examples of globe making. The meridian circle of wood, within which the sphere is made to revolve, is graduated. The supporting base consists of four exquisitely turned columns, braced at bottom with correspondingly well-turned crossbars.

The celestial globe has a mounting altogether like that of the terrestrial, and in the character of the map engraving there is agreement. The figures of the several constellations are copies of these drawn by Tycho Brahe, and all have been exquisitely colored. Stars from the first to the sixth magnitude are represented, while special attention is called to the new star in Cassiopeia first appearing in the year 1572, and to the comets of the years 1597 and 1616. Near Ursa Major is the author and date legend reading “In hoc Caelesto Globo notantur omnes stellae fixae, ad annum 1636 accommodatae, quae iuxta observationes Tychonis Brahae maximo illo Jansonii anno 1622 edito positae sunt, additis stellis quae a nauclero Petro Theod. circa Polum Australem notatae sunt ... Romae ex chalcographia Dominici de Rubeis, her. Jo. Jac. de Rubeis anno 1695.”

The twelve gores of the map have been mounted so as to join at the north and south poles of the ecliptic, there however being a small covering disc at each pole, so frequently employed since Mercator’s day, the globe itself being made to revolve on its equatorial axes.

To the makers of armillary spheres in the first half of the seventeenth century there may be added the name of Adam Heroldt, a native of Germany. We know little, however, of the extent of his activities. One example of his work is known, which bears the simple inscription engraved near the south polar circle “Adam Heroldt fecit Romae anno dn̄i MDCIL.” “Made by Adam Heroldt in the year 1649.” This sphere once belonged to the astronomer De Gasparis of Naples, but passed some years since into the collection of the Museo Astronomico of Rome. It is constructed entirely of brass, the diameter of the largest circle being about 14 cm. Its several circles, including the polar, the equatorial, the zodiacal, and the horizon, are graduated, the last-named having engraved on its surface the names of the months and of the winds, and resting on two semicircles, which in turn are supported by an artistically designed foot. The entire height of the sphere is about 20 cm. At the north pole is an hour circle bearing the inscription “Index Hor: Italic.” Within and at the common center of the several circles is a small ball representing the terrestrial sphere, which has a diameter of but 1 cm., and within the circle of the ecliptic and coördinated with it is a ring carrying the sun, while within this is one for the moon. The piece may be referred to as a fine example of the armillary sphere of the period.

Manfredo Settàla (1600-1680)[59], a nobleman of Italy, was in his day a distinguished promoter of science and art, and an intelligent collector of rare objects, which he brought together in a museum of his own founding. This he described in a work bearing title ‘Museum Septalianum,’ which was published in Italian in the year 1666 by Scarabelli. This museum later passed into the possession of the Ambrosiana of Milan, where it has been considered one of the choicest additions.

Settàla had included globes in his collection, among which there has previously been mentioned that made by the Cremonese Gianelli, in the year 1549. But not only was he a collector; he likewise became interested in the actual work of globe construction. Among the objects coming to the Ambrosiana from his museum is an armillary sphere bearing the inscription, “Manfredus Settalius fecit MDCXLVI.”[60] It is described as a sphere having a base of brass, its several circles including those representing the zodiac, the equator, the meridians, and the horizon, all being movable on a common axis, on which axis at the common center of the circles is a small ball 4 cm. in diameter, representing the earth. To this sphere rather extravagant praise is given in the descriptive catalogue referred to above.

There is a third armillary sphere belonging to the Settàla collection, which is of silver and which probably was constructed near the middle of the seventeenth century, although it is neither signed nor dated. It is 40 cm. in height, having a circle representing the ecliptic 15 cm. in diameter, which is graduated, having on its upper surface engraved figures representing the twelve zodiacal constellations. The meridian circle has a diameter of 16 cm., the horizon a diameter of 16 cm. and a breadth of 3 cm., on the upper surface of which have been engraved the names of the months, and the signs of the zodiac. In addition to the parts mentioned it has two small polar circles, and at the common center a small silver ball 1 cm. in diameter representing the earth.

Attention has been previously called to the transfer of the business of Jodocus Hondius into the hands of the son-in-law, Johan Janssonius, and of Abraham Goos, by whom it was carried on after the year 1640. This firm continued to issue the Hondius globes, modifying them from issue to issue with the addition of some of the latest geographical information obtainable. In the year 1648, with Johan Janssonius as editor and Abraham Goos as author and engraver, there was issued a pair of these revised Hondius globes, each having a diameter of 87 cm. On the terrestrial globe we read “Amstelodami Edebat Joannes Jansonius Sculpebat magnoque studio componebat Abrahamus Goos Amstelodamensis.” “Amsterdam. Edited by Johan Jansonius. Composed with much study and engraved by Abraham Goos a native of Amsterdam.” Further details concerning this globe have not been obtainable, but it is very certain, although differing in size, it contains practically all the features common to the earlier editions of the Hondius terrestrial globes, and especially of the later ones.

The celestial globes have the following inscription: “Sphaera nova summo studio summaque diligentia atque industria Clarissimi viri D. Adriani Metii Watheseos apud Frunequeranos Professoris Ordinarii ad abacos Nobilissimi viri Thiconis Brahe configurata observationibus quamplurimis tum circa polum arcticum a discipulo suo Houtmanno adhibitis aucta et in annum 1620 reducta. Edente Joanne Jansonio 1648.” “A new globe constructed with the greatest industry, zeal and diligence accommodated to the tables of the most noble Tycho Brahe, enlarged by very many observations, those around the Arctic pole being made by myself, and those around the Antarctic by his disciple Houtmann. All, accommodated to the year 1630. Constructed by Johan Jansonius, 1648.” A pair of these globes may be found in the library of the Marquis Borromeo of Milan.