"Freti Magellanici ac Novi Freti Vulgo Le Maire Exactissima Delineatio", Hondius/Jansson

This is a beautifully decorated map of the tip of South America with the Strait of Magellan and Le Maire Strait. The strategic importance of the place and the difficulties of navigation made this a notable chart, although it is not very accurate. The map graphically depicts the rugged mountainous terrain. The coastlines of Tierra del Fuego are incomplete. Notations describe the first Dutch expedition through the strait and a description of giants of vast magnitude said to inhabit the region. At the right is the Strait of Le Maire named after Jacob Le Maire, a Dutch navigator who transited the area in 1615-1616 with Willem Schouten. The map is richly decorated with a central compass rose, galleons, sea monsters, and penguins. German text on verso.

References: Moreland & Bannister p. 255; Van der Krogt (Vol. I) #9950:1B.

Condition: B+

A dark impression with full contemporary color on a sheet with a "V" watermark, minor soiling, and extraneous creasing adjacent to the centerfold. There is a previous owner's stamp on verso.