Curio

State Library of New South Wales
De Groote Nieuwe Vermeerderde Zee-Atlas ofte Water-Waerld

De Groote Nieuwe Vermeerderde Zee-Atlas ofte Water-Waerld

1695
Bound volume
Amsterdam: J Van Keulen, 1695?
Bequest of Sir William Dixson, 1952
DL F69/2

In the 17th century, celestial charts were produced in the same lavish style as terrestrial charts and maps. Here the constellations, including the 12 zodiacal constellations from Aries to Pisces, are beautifully depicted as images of Greek gods and mythical creatures, often highlighted in gold.

The atlas was published by the Van Keulen family, who operated a chart-making and publishing firm in Amsterdam for nearly 200 years.

The first celestial charts or maps of the heavens were published in 1515 by Albrecht Dürer, a well-known German artist and printmaker. They quickly became valuable aids to navigation, allowing ships to plot their changing position relative to the stars.

John Flamsteed was England’s first astronomer royal. In his first star catalogue, he plotted the positions of some 3000 stars.

Abraham Ortelius published the first atlas in 1570. It consisted of a collection of 53 maps of uniform size and style. Before this ‘modern’ atlas, bound collections of maps were put together on request by a mapmaker.

According to Greek mythology, Atlas was a Titan who was forced by Zeus to bear the sky on his shoulders.