Superlatives flounder in the face of Joan Blaeu's Atlas Maior, one of the most extravagant feats in the history of mapmaking. This stunning edition is based on the Austrian National Library's complete colored and gold-heightened copy and reprints its 594 maps covering all then-known continents to the highest reproduction standard, rendering...

A complete descriptive and illustrated catalogue of one of the largest and finest atlases ever assembled. Now housed in the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek in Vienna, the 46-volume atlas is an expanded version of Joan Blaeu's Atlas Maior or 'Great Atlas', published in Amsterdam between 1660 and 1663. Though the core of the atlas consists of the several hundred maps issued by Blaeu, the original owner of the atlas, Laurens van der Hem (1621-1678), added other maps, views, and drawings of his own choice, including four volumes of manuscript maps of Africa and Asia made for the Dutch East India Company (VOC). The practice of augmenting atlases was common in the seventeenth century, but few of these personalized atlases have survived the centuries. The catalogue in 7 volumes (plus a volume about the making of the facsimile) will include all the sheets in the atlas reproduced in black-and-white, with cartographical historical and arthistorical descriptions by P. van der Krogt and E. de Groot. Each volume will contain approximately 16 full-colour illustrations. I. Spain, Portugal and France (vols. 1-8). 1996. With about 700 illustrations. 632 pp. ISBN 978 90 6194 278 8 II. Italy, Malta, Switzerland and the Netherlands (vols. 9-17). 1999. With about 700 illustrations. 732 pp. ISBN 978 90 6194 348 8 III. British Isles, northern and eastern Europe (vols. 18-24). 2002. With about 700 illustrations. 552 pp. ISBN 978 90 6194 189 7 IV. German Empire, Hungary and Greece,including Asia Minor. Descriptive catalogue of the vols. 25-34 of the Atlas. 2004. Sm.folio. Cloth. With about 800 illustrations, including 16 in colour. 708 pp. ISBN 978 90 6194 179 8 V. Africa, Asia and America, including the "Secret" Atlas of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). Descriptive catalogue of volumes 35-46 of the Atlas. 2005. Sm. folio. Cloth. With about 700 illustrations, including 17 in colour. 640 pp. ISBN 978 90 6194 199 6 VI. Descriptive catalogue of volumes 47-50 (E1-E4) of the Atlas and general indices. 2008. Sm. Folio. Cloth. With about 300 illustrations. Approx. 500 pp. ISBN 978 90 6194 439 3 VII. Groot, E. de. The world of a seventeenth-century collector. The Atlas Blaeu-Van der Hem. 2006. Sm. folio. Cloth, with full colour dustjacket. With 150 black & white and 16 colour illustrations. 395 pp. ISBN 978 90 6194 359 4 VIII. The Atlas Blaeu-Van der Hem. The history of the Atlas and the making of the facsimile. An accompanying publication with background information on the Atlas Blaeu-Van der Hem and the production of the facsimile. Cloth with full colour dust jacket. 244 pp. 137 full colour illustrations. ISBN 978 90 6194 300 6.

The globalization of space -- Separate worlds -- Early Joseon maps -- Europe looks East -- Cartographic encounters -- Joseon and its neighbors -- Cartographies of the late Joseon -- Representing Korea in the modern era -- The colonial grid -- Representing the new country -- Cartroversies -- Guide to further reading

A New York Times Bestseller “Maps allow the armchair traveler to roam the world, the diplomat to argue his points, the ruler to administer his country, the warrior to plan his campaigns and the propagandist to boost his cause… rich and beautiful.” – Wall Street Journal Throughout history, maps have been fundamental in shaping our view of the world, and our place in it. But far from being purely scientific objects, maps of the world are unavoidably ideological and subjective, intimately bound up with the systems of power and authority of particular times and places. Mapmakers do not simply represent the world, they construct it out of the ideas of their age. In this scintillating book, Jerry Brotton examines the significance of 12 maps - from the almost mystical representations of ancient history to the satellite-derived imagery of today. He vividly recreates the environments and circumstances in which each of the maps was made, showing how each conveys a highly individual view of the world. Brotton shows how each of his maps both influenced and reflected contemporary events and how, by considering it in all its nuances and omissions, we can better understand the world that produced it. Although the way we map our surroundings is more precise than ever before, Brotton argues that maps today are no more definitive or objective than they have ever been. Readers of this beautifully illustrated and masterfully argued book will never look at a map in quite the same way again. “A fascinating and panoramic new history of the cartographer’s art.” – The Guardian “The intellectual background to these images is conveyed with beguiling erudition…. There is nothing more subversive than a map.” – The Spectator “A mesmerizing and beautifully illustrated book.” —The Telegraph

Jerry Brotton is the presenter of the acclaimed BBC4 series 'Maps: Power, Plunder and Possession'. Here he tells the story of our world through maps. Throughout history, maps have been fundamental in shaping our view of the world, and our place in it. But far from being purely scientific objects, world maps are unavoidably ideological and subjective, intimately bound up with the systems of power and authority of particular times and places. Mapmakers do not simply represent the world, they construct it out of the ideas of their age. In this scintillating book, Jerry Brotton examines the significance of 12 maps - from the mystical representations of ancient history to the satellite-derived imagery of today. He vividly recreates the environments and circumstances in which each of the maps was made, showing how each conveys a highly individual view of the world - whether the Jerusalem-centred Christian perspective of the 14th century Hereford Mappa Mundi or the Peters projection of the 1970s which aimed to give due weight to 'the third world'. Although the way we map our surroundings is once more changing dramatically, Brotton argues that maps today are no more definitive or objective than they have ever been - but that they continue to make arguments and propositions about the world, and to recreate, shape and mediate our view of it. Readers of this book will never look at a map in quite the same way again.