Jan Jansson or Johannes Janssonius (1588 - 1664) was born in Arnhem, Holland. He was the son of a printer and bookseller and in 1612 married into the cartographically prominent Hondius family. Following his marriage he moved to Amsterdam where he worked as a book publisher. It was not until 1616 that Jansson produced his first maps, most of which were heavily influenced by Blaeu. In the mid 1630s Jansson partnered with his brother-in-law, Henricus Hondius, to produce his important work, the eleven volume Atlas Major. About this time, Jansson's name also begins to appear on Hondius reissues of notable Mercator/Hondius atlases. Jansson's last major work was his issue of the 1646 full edition of Jansson's English Country Maps. Following Jansson's death in 1664 the company was taken over by Jansson's brother-in-law Johannes Waesberger. Waesberger adopted the name of Jansonius and published a new Atlas Contractus in two volumes with Jansson's other son-in-law Elizée Weyerstraet with the imprint 'Joannis Janssonii haeredes' in 1666. These maps also refer to the firm of Janssonius-Waesbergius. The name of Moses Pitt, an English map publisher, was added to the Janssonius-Waesbergius imprint for maps printed in England for use in Pitt's English Atlas. More by this mapmaker...

Georg Horn (1620 - 1670) or has he was otherwise known, Georgius Hornius, is a Germany born historian and professor active in the central part of the 17th century. Hornius spent most of his life in Holland, where the cosmopolitan atmosphere offered him greater academic freedom. As an academic Hornius was known for his unconventional approach that encouraged looking at important historical events from multiple angles. He, for example, advocated the uncommon view that Attila the Hun was actually a much loved and beneficent ruler. Hornius composed a number of historical essays but is best known for composing the text to accompany Johannes Jansson's monumental mapping of the Holy Land in 1658. This six part map is today generally referred to as the "Hornius Map" in his honor. A number of other historical maps, also associated with volume VI of Jansson's Atlas Novus. Learn More...

Christian Kruik van Adrichem (February 13, 1533 - June 20, 1585), alternatively known as Christianus Crucius Adrichomius was a Dutch theologian active in the second half of the 16th century. Adrichem was born in Delft of a wealthy family - at one point his father, Adriaen Claesz, was mayor of Delft. Adrichem was ordained in 1566. He served as the director of the Convent of St. Barbara in Delft until expelled by the Protestant Reformation. Fleeing the anti-Catholic sentiment of the Reformation, Adrichem reestablished himself in Cologne (Koln) where compiled various religious works including his important historical atlas, the Theatrum Terrae Sanctae et Biblicarum Historiarum. Adrichem's important atlas was published posthumously by his associate Gerardis Brunius in 1590. The work went through numerous editions and served as the foundation of most subsequent maps of the Holy Land well into the 18th century. Learn More...