Collection: Osher Sheet Map Collection

Title: Septentrionalivm Terrarvm descriptio. Per Gerardum Mercatorem Cum Privilegio

Title Translation: A representation of the Northern regions. By Gerhard Mercator with privilege

Alternative Title: Pole Arctique et la description de terres septentrionales

Barcode: 393

Creator: Mercator, Rumold (approximately 1545 -1599), Hondius, Jodocus, 1563-1612, Mercator, Gerhard, 1512-1594

Publisher: Hondius, Hendrik, 1597-1651

Publishing Location: Amsterdam

Region Depicted: Arctic regions · Iceland · Norway · Sweden · Finland · Denmark · Scandinavia · Russia · Alaska · Arctic Ocean · North Pole · Northwest Passage · Canada · Northwest Territories · Yukon · Nunavut

Date Produced: 1595

Date Published: 1633

Language: Latin

Historical Context: This landmark map was the first individually printed map to focus on the Arctic. Depicted as it was described in legends, the North Pole appears as a massive rock surrounded by circulating waters, which feed four rivers between four large islands. Interestingly, Magnetic North is denoted with a separate island between Asia and North America, just north of the Strait of Anian. The map also depicts the attempts of Frobisher and Davis to locate the northern passages to Asia. In the North Atlantic, an interestingly-shaped Greenland looms over Iceland and the mythical island of Frisland. Iceland is drawn similarly to its depictions on the maps of Ortelius, derived from indigenous sources, and several named towns are imagined on the island of Frisland. Frisland is shown again in one of the four roundels at the corners of the map?s florally decorated border; the other three roundels feature the Faeroe Isles, the Shetland Isles, and the title of the map.

Subjects: Arctic regions · Hondius, Hendrik, 1597-1651 · Maps--Early works to 1800 · Hondius, Jodocus, 1563-1612 · Mercator, Gerhard, 1512-1594

Map Type: Geographical

Dimensions: 1 hemisphere 35 cm. in diameter on sheet 37 x 39cm.

Printing Process: Engraving

Printing Technique: Copper

Material Type: Paper

Notes: Verso: Text in French

Brief Description: Circular map of the Arctic with corner inset maps.

Physical Description: 1 map; colored; illustrated

Insets: Frislant insula, Farre insulae, Scetland insulae

Theme: Dutch Golden Age (17th-18th Century)

Collection/Donor: Osher

Permanent URL: https://oshermaps.org/map/393.0001