Willem Blaeu after Jodocus Hondius. Virginiae partis australis, et Floridae partis orientalis,... Amsterdam: W. Blaeu, [1639]-1640. 15 1/8 x 19 3/4. Engraving. Hand color. Lovely image with wide margins. Excellent condition. Dutch text on verso. Ref.: Koeman Bl. 56:299. Cumming, 41. Burden, 253.

A beautiful map to look at and one of the most interesting maps of the American southeast. The map is based upon the Jodocus Hondius’ map of the same area, with some updating. This shows the influence of the Hondius map, and the way his map led to an extensive dissemination of both its correct information and its errors. The map is a combination of information from two sixteenth century maps, one of the Carolinas, and one of the northern Florida/Georgia region. These were combined, and in the process many errors were introduced, not the least of which was the straightening out of the St. John’s River so that it flowed from an non-existent lake located to the northwest of the mouth of the river. This lake, which would become Lake Apalachy, appeared on this and other maps well into the eighteenth century. Blaeu’s map is updated from the Hondius version, including coats-of-arms to indicate the spheres of influence claimed by the French in the Georgia region and the British in the Carolinas. Blaeu follows Hondius in the south, but he more accurately depicts the coast in the Carolinas, based on Hessel Gerritsz's map of 1631, and has a more correct image of the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, indicating for the first time "Newport nesa [i.e. News]."

This map shines not only in its interesting cartographic history, but also in its decorative appeal. It is a particularly fine example of the aesthetics of 17th-century Dutch cartography. The elegant calligraphy and compass roses combine with the ships in the sea and the rhumb lines in wonderful embellishment. The fully colored title and scale cartouches, the latter which shows naked putti and the former half-naked natives, add a final flourish that makes the map a delight to look at. All in all an historic map that is a very fine decorative example of the great age of Dutch cartography