This copy is copyright protected.
Copyright © 2024 Geographicus Rare Antique Maps
1636 Jansson / Teixeira Map of Japan w/ Insular Korea
JapanKorea-jansson-1639$2,500.00
Title
Japoniae nova Descriptio.
1639 (undated) 13.5 x 17.5 in (34.29 x 44.45 cm) 1 : 1267200
1639 (undated) 13.5 x 17.5 in (34.29 x 44.45 cm) 1 : 1267200
Description
This is a scarce. original-color example of Jan Jansson's map of Japan and Korea, featuring an insular Korea. The map follows the model of Luís Teixeira, the 16th-century court cartographer to the King of Spain.
The placenames of Teixeira's map are derived from a Japanese source - almost certainly a Gyōgi-type map - but this map is distinctly the product of European geographical methodology. Its presentation of Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku is more accurate than any earlier Western map, as well as any Japanese Gyōgi-type map.
Teixeira's map was the first to provide sufficient detail for Ortelius to produce a dedicated specific map of Japan, which served as the model for all European maps of Japan - including this one - until the Martino Martini maps of 1655. Teixiera's initial source is unknown, but Donald Lach (1965) suggests geographer Inácio Moreira, who visited Japan from 1584 to 1585.
Although there was no fresher information in 1636 for Jansson to add to his father-in-law's map, aesthetically, the work had become old-fashioned enough in appearance for Jansson to justify extensively re-engraving the decorative elements: both cartouches, the sea monster, and both ships, have been replaced. The changes did not extend to the accompanying text, with the puzzling result that the fine, European-style sailing ship at the bottom is described in Latin: 'A type of boat from the island of Japan made of woven reeds and wooden anchors.' (The ship on the 1606 state of the map was an Eastern-style craft more appropriate to the description.)
A Closer Look
The map is based on the work of Luís Teixeira, via Ortelius. Teixeira sent geographical data to Ortelius on February 20, 1592. Teixeira's Portuguese Jesuit sources were informed by firsthand exploration of Japan during a period of extensive proselytizing. The map's placenames incorporate information from Japanese sources, but the cartography does not derive from contemporaneous Japanese maps.From the First Geographical Mapping of Japan
Japanese maps of Japan contemporaneous to Teixeira's map significantly differ from the present work. Credited in form to the 7th-8th century Buddhist Gyōgi Bosatsu, these maps presented the Japanese provinces in relation to each other and the capital. They did not attempt to accurately represent terrestrial geography (mountains, rivers, or islands). The Jesuit Alessandro Valignano, who visited Japan three times between 1579 and 1603, observed that while the Japanese had maps of their islands, the mapmakers lacked the methodology of measuring either latitude or longitude. As such, they could neither produce a precise, mathematical map of their islands nor determine Japan's placement on the globe.The placenames of Teixeira's map are derived from a Japanese source - almost certainly a Gyōgi-type map - but this map is distinctly the product of European geographical methodology. Its presentation of Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku is more accurate than any earlier Western map, as well as any Japanese Gyōgi-type map.
Teixeira's map was the first to provide sufficient detail for Ortelius to produce a dedicated specific map of Japan, which served as the model for all European maps of Japan - including this one - until the Martino Martini maps of 1655. Teixiera's initial source is unknown, but Donald Lach (1965) suggests geographer Inácio Moreira, who visited Japan from 1584 to 1585.
From Hondius to Jansson
The present plate was first engraved by Jodocus Hondius for inclusion in his 1606 atlas. All the placenames of the Japanese Islands are faithfully drawn from the Ortelius/Teixeira, except for the unnamed island south of Honshu, termed 'Fechi Ionoxima' on the earlier map.Although there was no fresher information in 1636 for Jansson to add to his father-in-law's map, aesthetically, the work had become old-fashioned enough in appearance for Jansson to justify extensively re-engraving the decorative elements: both cartouches, the sea monster, and both ships, have been replaced. The changes did not extend to the accompanying text, with the puzzling result that the fine, European-style sailing ship at the bottom is described in Latin: 'A type of boat from the island of Japan made of woven reeds and wooden anchors.' (The ship on the 1606 state of the map was an Eastern-style craft more appropriate to the description.)
Korea as an Island
One of the most striking and eagerly copied features of this map is the large, spearhead-shaped portrayal of Korea, and its prominent identification as 'Corea Insula' - the Island of Korea. This is one of the earliest maps to include Korea in any form. This Hondius/Janssonius map was visually more definitive than Ortelius' regarding the insularity of Korea: Ortelius called Korea an island on the map, but he allowed the northern end of Korea to run off the top of the map, leaving its shoreline incomplete. Hondius, in his 1606 iteration of the map, completed the coastline; it remains so in Jansson's edition. Hondius also added, and Jansson retained, a descriptive text for Korea which hedges where the image does not, stating that 'whether an island or a part of the continent, is not clear.'Publication History and Census
This map was engraved and first published in 1606 for Jodocus Hondius' Gerardi Mercatoris Atlas Sive Cosmographicae Meditationes De Fabrica Mundi et Fabricati Figura. The present second-state example began to appear in 1636. This example conforms to the 1639 French edition of the Hondius/Janssonnius Le Nouveau Theatre du Monde ou Nouvel Atlas. The atlas is reasonably well represented in institutional collections. The separate map is scarce, as it only appeared in six editions of the atlas before it was replaced in 1644 by the updated Nova et Accurata Japoniae Terrae Esonis ac Insularum adjacentium. This state appears only twice in OCLC, in the collections of Harvard and Princeton.CartographerS
Luís Teixeira (1564 - 1604) was a Portuguese Jesuit cartographer, and mathematician. He had two sons, also cartographers. Little is known of his life and education, but he would be highly placed: he became cartographer to the Spanish Crown. His work would be widely disseminated, especially in the maps of Ortelius, Hondius and their successors. His map of Japan, published by Ortelius, would be the first detailed separate map of the island. His charts also informed the mapping of Brazil, and of the African coast. More by this mapmaker...
Jodocus Hondius (October, 14 1563 - February 12, 1612) was an important Dutch cartographer active in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. His common name, Jodocus Hondius is actually a Latinized version of his Dutch name, Joost de Hondt. He is also sometimes referred to as Jodocus Hondius the Elder to distinguish him from his sons. Hondius was a Flemish artist, engraver, and cartographer. He is best known for his early maps of the New World and Europe, for re-establishing the reputation of the work of Gerard Mercator, and for his portraits of Francis Drake. Hondius was born and raised in Ghent. In his early years he established himself as an engraver, instrument maker and globe maker. In 1584 he moved to London to escape religious difficulties in Flanders. During his stay in England, Hondius was instrumental in publicizing the work of Francis Drake, who had made a circumnavigation of the world in the late 1570s. In particular, in 1589 Hondius produced a now famous map of the cove of New Albion, where Drake briefly established a settlement on the west coast of North America. Hondius' map was based on journal and eyewitness accounts of the trip and has long fueled speculation about the precise location of Drake's landing, which has not yet been firmly established by historians. Hondius is also thought to be the artist of several well-known portraits of Drake that are now in the National Portrait Gallery in London. In 1593, Hondius returned to Amsterdam, where he remained until the end of his life. In 1604, he purchased the plates of Gerard Mercator's Atlas from Mercator's grandson. Mercator's work had languished in comparison to the rival atlas, Theatrum Orbis Terrarum by Ortelius. Hondius republished Mercator's work with 36 additional maps, including several which he himself produced. Despite the addition of his own contributions, Hondius recognizing the prestige of Mercator's name, gave Mercator full credit as the author of the work, listing himself as the publisher. Hondius' new edition of Mercator revived the great cartographer's reputation and was a great success, selling out after a year. Hondius later published a second edition, as well as a pocket version called the Atlas Minor. The maps have since become known as the "Mercator/Hondius series". Between 1605 and 1610 Hondius was employed by John Speed to engrave the plates for Speed's The Theatre of the Empire of Great Britaine. Following Hondius' death in 1612, his publishing work in Amsterdam was continued by his widow and two sons, Jodocus II and Henricus. Later his family formed a partnership with Jan Jansson, whose name appears on the Atlasas co-publisher after 1633. Eventually, starting with the first 1606 edition in Latin, about 50 editions of the Atlas were released in the main European languages. In the Islamic world, the atlas was partially translated by the Turkish scholar Katip Çelebi. The series is sometimes called the 'Mercator/Hondius/Jansson' series because of Jansson's later contributions. Hondius' is also credited with a number of important cartographic innovations including the introduction of decorative map borders and contributions to the evolution of 17th century Dutch wall maps. The work of Hondius was essential to the establishment Amsterdam as the center of cartography in Europe in the 17th century. Learn More...
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. Learn More...
Source
Jansson, J., Le Nouveau Theatre du Monde ou Nouvel Atlas, (Amsterdam: Hondius) 1639.
Condition
Very good. Reinforced areas of cracking under original oxidized pigment. Some spotting, else excellent with beautiful original color.
References
OCLC 85773408. Walter, L., Japan, a Cartographic Vision: European Printed Maps from the Early 16th-19th Century, No. 23; Van der Krogt, P., Koeman's Atlantes Neerlandici, 8450:1A.2.