Rare Edition of Hessel Gerritsz's Map of Russia

"Russia cum Confinijs", Mercator/Cloppenburgh

Charming small map of the Russian Empire in Eastern Europe. It covers the region from Scandinavia and Poland to the Ural Mountains. It has nicely detailed pictorial topography, including forests, towns, and mountains. This map was newly engraved by Dirck Cornelissen Swardt for Cloppenburgh's atlas, which was a medium-sized atlas -- in between the folio and Atlas Minor sizes -- based on Mercator's maps. However, this map is not based on Mercator's map of Russia, but instead copies Hessel Gerritsz's map of the region, including the oval-shaped Caspian Sea oriented horizontally and similar nomenclature throughout. In order to simplify the map for this reduced size, Swardt omitted Gerritsz' decorative elements. At top left, where Gerritsz had a bird's-eye view of Moscow, Swardt simply drew a conjectural coastline for Norway, rather than referring to Mercator's map, which properly delineated this relatively well-known coast. Latin text on verso.

References: Van der Krogt (Vol. III) #1800:353.1.

Condition: A

A crisp impression with minor marginal soiling.