"Canibales Insulae", Blaeu, Johannes
Subject: Lesser Antilles
Period: 1662 (circa)
Publication: Atlas Maior sive Geographia
Color: Hand Color
Size:
20.9 x 16.4 inches
53.1 x 41.7 cm
This is the first Dutch map to focus on the Lesser Antilles. It covers the Windward and Leeward Isles from Puerto Rico to Trinidad and Margarita. Centered on a compass rose with north at right, the chart is less decorative than other maps by Blaeu, having instead a practical navigational chart appearance. The title - Islands of the Cannibals - is certainly evocative. It illustrates the European impression of the mysterious islands of the New World resulting from many explorers' accounts of the savage Caribbean warriors who devoured their prisoners. Blaeu's map appeared only in editions of the great Atlas Maior from 1662, thus it is relatively uncommon. Latin text on verso.
References: Goss (Blaeu) #70; Van der Krogt (Vol. II) 9640:2.
Condition: B+
Contemporary color on a lightly toned sheet with minor offsetting and soiling and an archivally repaired centerfold separation that just crosses the neatline at bottom. There is a damp stain in the upper blank margin.
