"Nova Hispania, et Nova Galicia", Blaeu, Willem

This is a fabulous, decorative map of the western coastal regions of Mexico, based on Hondius' map of 1606, which itself derives from Ortelius' 1579 map. Mexico City is situated on a large lake below the elaborate title cartouche with the Royal Spanish arms, figureheads, parrots and other adornments. Several gold and silver mines are located in the central region with a diamond-shaped icon, and a central mountain range has a Latin note indicating that there are large amounts of silver to be found there. Two sailing ships and a compass rose adorn the Pacific, and putti and armadillos frolic on the scale of miles cartouche. The map bears Willem Blaeu's imprint in the distance scale cartouche. French text on verso, published between 1643-1650.

References: Van der Krogt (Vol. II) #9510:2.

Condition: B+

A dark impression on a thick sheet with two small worm tracks entering the bottom border that have been closed on verso with old paper and a tiny portion of border drawn in facsimile. Several other worm tracks confined to the blank margins have also been repaired on verso.