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1595 Mercator Map of Ulster, Ireland
Ulster-mercator-1595$500.00
Title
Ultoniae Orientalis Pars.
1595 (undated) 13.5 x 15 in (34.29 x 38.1 cm) 1 : 500000
1595 (undated) 13.5 x 15 in (34.29 x 38.1 cm) 1 : 500000
Description
This is a superb, 1595 first atlas edition of Gerard Mercator's map of the east part of Ulster, Ireland. It is the earliest specific map of the northern part of Ireland to appear in an atlas.
A Closer Look
It comprises most of what is now Northern Ireland. The map extends from the eastern half of Lough Erne to the Irish Sea. The river 'Gallen' in the northwest is probably the river Foyle. The northern limit of the map appears to be modern-day Larne and Ballymena; it reaches as far south as the Boyne and county Lough and part of County Meath. It is richly detailed, noting towns, rivers, and lakes. Mountains and forests are beautifully rendered in profile.Predominant View of Ulster of the Early 17th Century
Mercator initially addressed the geography of Ireland in his 1564 wall map of the British Isles. His delineation of Ireland in that map was influential, to the extent that Ortelius reproduced it faithfully in his 1573 map. By the time Mercator produced this map, however, he moved beyond his earlier work. A cursory comparison of the Ireland of the 1564 map and this work shows drastic differences throughout. The level of detail exhibited, along with the ubiquity of Irish place names, suggests that Mercator had access to detailed surveys, executed in Ireland, by an Irish or English mapmaker. A convincing candidate is the surveyor Robert Lythe, whose surveys added over three thousand Irish place names to the historical record during his 1567-1571 tenure as military engineer under Sir Henry Sidney, the Queen's deputy in Ireland. Although Lythe eventually mapped the entire island, his surveys between 1567 and 1569 were focused specifically on the region covered here - and those, mainly concentrated on the southeastern parts of the province: the north and west were difficult to travel, and dangerous in particular for an English surveyor in an Irish province whose populace was not as thoroughly subdued as Lythe's employers hoped.Publication History and Census
Mercator himself engraved this map for inclusion in his Atlas, although he would not live to see it published as this first edition appeared a year after his death. The plates were later purchased by Jodocus Hondius, who continued to use them as the basis for his own atlases, gradually adding additional plates. The map remained in the Hondius / Jansson atlases unchanged until 1633, at which point Mercator's name was removed and the cartouche altered. In that second state, the map remained in the atlas until 1644. This present map is an example of the first state and conforms typographically with examples of the 1595 first Latin edition of Mercator's Atlas. In various editions, examples appear on the market from time to time, and the map is reasonably well represented in institutional collections.Cartographer
Gerard Mercator (March 5, 1512 - December 2, 1594) is a seminal figure in the history of cartography. Mercator was born near Antwerp as Gerard de Cremere in Rupelmonde. He studied Latin, mathematics, and religion in Rupelmonde before his Uncle, Gisbert, a priest, arranged for him to be sent to Hertogenbosch to study under the Brothers of the Common Life. There he was taught by the celebrated Dutch humanist Georgius Macropedius (Joris van Lanckvelt; April 1487 - July 1558). It was there that he changed him name, adapting the Latin term for 'Merchant', that is 'Mercator'. He went on to study at the University of Louvain. After some time, he left Louvain to travel extensively, but returned in 1534 to study mathematics under Gemma Frisius (1508 - 1555). He produced his first world map in 1538 - notable as being the first to represent North America stretching from the Arctic to the southern polar regions. This impressive work earned him the patronage of the Emperor Charles V, for whom along with Van der Heyden and Gemma Frisius, he constructed a terrestrial globe. He then produced an important 1541 globe - the first to offer rhumb lines. Despite growing fame and imperial patronage, Mercator was accused of heresy and in 1552. His accusations were partially due to his Protestant faith, and partly due to his travels, which aroused suspicion. After being released from prison with the support of the University of Louvain, he resumed his cartographic work. It was during this period that he became a close fried to English polymath John Dee (1527 - 1609), who arrived in Louvain in 1548, and with whom Mercator maintained a lifelong correspondence. In 1552, Mercator set himself up as a cartographer in Duisburg and began work on his revised edition of Ptolemy's Geographia. He also taught mathematics in Duisburg from 1559 to 1562. In 1564, he became the Court Cosmographer to Duke Wilhelm of Cleve. During this period, he began to perfect the novel projection for which he is best remembered. The 'Mercator Projection' was first used in 1569 for a massive world map on 18 sheets. On May 5, 1590 Mercator had a stroke which left him paralyzed on his left side. He slowly recovered but suffered frustration at his inability to continue making maps. By 1592, he recovered enough that he was able to work again but by that time he was losing his vision. He had a second stroke near the end of 1593, after which he briefly lost speech. He recovered some power of speech before a third stroke marked his end. Following Mercator's death his descendants, particularly his youngest son Rumold (1541 - December 31, 1599) completed many of his maps and in 1595, published his Atlas. Nonetheless, lacking their father's drive and genius, the firm but languished under heavy competition from Abraham Ortelius. It was not until Mercator's plates were purchased and republished (Mercator / Hondius) by Henricus Hondius II (1597 - 1651) and Jan Jansson (1588 - 1664) that his position as the preeminent cartographer of the age was re-established. More by this mapmaker...
Source
Mercator, G., Atlas sive Cosmographicae, (Amsterdam) 1595.
Mercator's Atlas is one of the most important works in the history of cartography. Although in fact Ortelius was the first to publish a proper atlas, the Teatrum Orbis Terrarum, Mercator's Atlas the first book to employ the term Atlas for a collection of maps. The term is derived both from the mythical titan, Atlas, who was forced to bear the world upon his shoulders, and the Libyan king, philosopher, and astronomer of the same name that, so the legend goes, constructed the first globe. Mercator dedicated the final 25 years of his life to compile the Atlas. He published two parts during his lifetime in 1585 and 1589, but the final part published posthumously by his son Rumold Mercator, in 1595. The map plates for the Atlas were later acquired by Jodocus Hondius who published the most complete and well known edition in 1606. It was Jodocus who popularized the Atlas and who did the most to elevate Gerard Mercator's work.
Condition
Very good. Mends to bottom centerfold, some scuffing to border. Else excellent with a bold strike.
References
OCLC 633645283. Koeman's Atlantes Neerlandici, (Vol. 1), 5941:1. Law, B., The printed maps of Ireland to 1612, p.19-20.