Hondius' Richly Ornamented Map of Japan

"Iaponia", Mercator/Hondius

Superb map of Japan based on the Ortelius/Teixeira model with Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku depicted with approximately the correct proportions. Korea is shown as an island, although Hondius added a notation to the effect that is was uncertain if the region was an island or a peninsula. The map is richly ornamented with two strapwork cartouches, a European and Japanese ship, and a sea monster. Hondius engraved this map for inclusion in his edition of Mercator's atlas after he acquired Mercator's plates. It appeared in the editions of Atlas Sive Cosmographia from 1606 to 1636. This example has French text on verso, and was published between 1613-16.

References: Walter #22; Van der Krogt (Vol. I) #8450:1A.1.

Condition: B+

Original color on a watermarked sheet with archival repairs to a few tiny cracks due to oxidation and two edge tears that just enter map border at top. There several printer's creases in the image and faint damp stains confined to the blank margins.