Description
Although titled Macedonia, Epirus and Achaia, this 17th century map depicts territory now part of modern-day Greece that was under the control of the Ottoman Empire. (1) A culmination of work by Willem Janzoon Blaeu (also known as Guilielmus Janssonius) and his son Joan Blaeu, this map is featured in their famous Atlas maior (Volume 7 of the Dutch edition). Also featured in this atlas is Aegean Sea (HC.PR.xxxx.47.(En)), another Old World map in the Dumbarton Oaks House Collection.
Both Blaeu’s studied cartography, mapmaking, and cosmography, with Willem Janzoon Blaeu studying under Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe in his early years. In the early seventeenth century, Willem Janzoon Blaeu opened a print shop and publishing business in Amsterdam and began publishing some of the Dutch Golden Age’s highest quality maps. (2) His son, Joan Blaeu, took over the business in 1638 following the death of the elder Blaeu. Their massive atlas publication drew from pre-existing maps and traveler’s accounts, including a set of copper plates from mapmaker Jodocus Hondius. (3) This map, taken in part from a Hondius plate, can also be identified as an adaptation of maps by Gerard Mercator (1512-1549) and Giacomo Gastaldi (1500-1566).
In addition to the Atlas maior, also known as the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, the Blaeu’s made major contributions to mapmaking and printing. Their work coincided with a period of rapid development and wealth in Amsterdam, which provided both ample patronage and resources for greater innovation. The entrance of neighboring publisher Johannes Janssonius into the mapmaking race further encouraged the improvement of cartographic technologies and the decades-long publication of the ambitious atlas project. (4)
- Hannah Chew, Humanities Fellow, 2023-24
NOTES:
(1) Encyclopedia Britannica, “Greece Under Ottoman Rule.”
(2) Marco van Egmond, “Atlas maior by Blaeu,” (Utrecht University: Special Collections).
(3) Christopher Fleet, “Blaeu Atlas of Scotland,” (National Library of Scotland).
(4) Marco van Egmond, “Atlas maior by Blaeu,” (Utrecht University: Special Collections).
Acquisition History
Purchase. Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, House Collection, Washington, DC
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