1595 Mercator's Two-Sheet Map of Scotland

This is a superb 1595 first-edition of Gerard Mercator's 2-sheet map of Scotland. Mercator's mapping replaced all earlier representations of Scotland, and while the details of Mercator's single-sheet Scotia Regnum agree with this one, the greater area afforded this two-sheet map permit the inclusion of much more detail. So while this and the smaller map clearly share the same source, the present work was able to present its information in the most complete form of what Rodney Shirley would declare, 'this was to remain the standard outline, apart from minor improvements by Speed, until a new map of Scotland by Robert Gordon was published in 1654'.

Sources

Ortelius' Scotiae Tabula, the first atlas map specifically of Scotland, had been based faithfully on the mapping of Scotland in Mercator's 1564 eight-sheet map of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Mercator's wall map was derived from a manuscript drawn by an unidentified English friend, and his data for Scotland appears to have suffered accordingly. The present work is much revised, with a great many material corrections suggesting a different if unknown source. A cursory glance at the Orkney Islands on Mercator's atlas map reveals differences between this and the 1564 map. Further scrutiny on the Upper Firth of Clyde ('Dumbritan Fyrth') and the vicinity of Loch Lomond, for example, will show more accurate and recognizable place names than appear on the earlier maps. Whomever produced the source for Mercator's revisions to the present map was more familiar with Scottish geography than the person informing his earlier work. In many places, Mercator uses local terminology in explicit contradiction of accepted placenames; such corrections would have required local expertise that his earlier work had not benefited from. In addition to presenting more vernacular place names, the map includes more notation than does the single-sheet; For example, it is noted that neither Loch Ness nor the River Ness ever freezes.

Scope of the Map

The map is printed to two sheets, with some overlap between them. The upper sheet covers the north part of Scotland, from Redcastle in the southeast up to include the Orkney Islands; the map extends west to include the Hebrides, from South Uist to include Lewis. The lower sheet spans from Whithorne and Carlisle in the south up to Balnagall, Skye, and the southern tip of Lewis island in the Orkneys. The southwest part of the map includes the Northeast coast of Ireland.

In Mercator's Own Hand

Although his atlas was published posthumously by Mercator's heirs, this is among the maps engraved personally by the master. This is a superb example of his work. Scotland's rugged terrain is evocatively, if pictorially represented. Even the smallest lettering engraved here is clear, fine, and legible. Mercator's innovation in the application of Italic letters to differentiate town names from regional ones is evident throughout. Bold shading sets off the coastlines, both for the oceans and the inland bodies of water. The broad expanses of hachured ocean afford Mercator the opportunity for some beautiful calligraphic flourishes. The map's title, and its appended scales in Scottish miles, are contained in an elegant strapwork cartouche also characteristic of Mercator's compositions.

Publication History and Census

These map were engraved by Gerard Mercator, but were not published until 1595 by his heirs in the posthumous Atlas sive Cosmographicae. They were included in editions of the Mercator / Hondius atlas without change until 1636, at which point Mercator's imprint was removed, and Henry Hondius' imprint added to the southern sheet. Thereafter Hondius replaced the maps with an entirely new work. The typography of the verso text on our example conforms to the 1595 first edition of the Mercator atlas. The map is well represented in institutional collections in its later editions. One example of the pair assigned a 1595 date is listed in OCLC at the Universitatsbibliothek Eichstatt.