This is the second copperplate of Ortelius'.

Columbus is standing in the bow of his ship, which is near the shore. He is clad in a long mantle and undercoat, while his armor lies at his feet, and his standard is floating from the foremast. Behind him is Minerva, carrying a spear and a shield with the head of Medusa in the center, presenting a laurel branch to Columbus.Behind the goddess is Mars in full armor, standing on the back of a turtle for a chariot, and drawn by three lions. Near him, are two Sirens, whilst at the head of the vessel...

Lantor is a kind of coconut palm (or Indian nut) with fronds as long as a human body. These fronds are used as paper. Pimenta del Rabo (or cubebe) grows grape-like on trees and is held in such esteem by the Indians that they cook and preserve them, rather than sell them to other countries. Also shown is the Tamarind tree or Assa, the plant Talasse grows in Java, and the Mangostan fruit and the black pepper is called ‘Sahang’ in Java.Theodore de Bry, a German engraver and book dealer, began a...

Coastline of Venezuela with little interior development. Including Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, etc. Scarce map prepared by Hessel Gerritsz (1581-1632), former apprentice of Willem Blaeu, and Blaeu’s predecessor as chief cartographer of the Dutch East India Company. Gerritsz enjoys a very high reputation for his critical approach towards his sources.Most of Gerritsz’ work exists only in manuscript, and these maps published by de Laet, are among the only printed Gerritsz maps available to the co...

Map of Virginia from the rare Cloppenburg edition slightly larger format and more scarce edition of the Mercator/Hondius "Atlas Minor". Engraved by Pieter Van Den Keere.The Cloppenburg edition "Atlas Sive Cosmographicae Meditationes De Fabrica Mundi Et Fabricati Figura", was continued for a couple of years but seems to have been suppressed after 1636 ... (Koeman Atlantes Neerlandici).Based on the 1595 Abraham Ortelius map, but with added decoration.

Map of Bermuda from the rare Cloppenburg edition slightly larger format and more scarce edition of the Mercator/Hondius "Atlas Minor". Engraved by Pieter Van Den Keere.The Cloppenburg edition "Atlas Sive Cosmographicae Meditationes De Fabrica Mundi Et Fabricati Figura", was continued for a couple of years but seems to have been suppressed after 1636 ... (Koeman Atlantes Neerlandici).Based on the 1595 Abraham Ortelius map, but with added decoration.

Two engravings. [470] The funeral of an Inca king was a ceremony of great splendor. After digging a large pit, the Indians would decorate the corpse with gold and silver then bury it with many fine ornaments, along with good food and wine to help it on its way into the next world. Benzoni so described the burial of Huayna-Capac, whose grave he said was on the border of the province of Quito. When the Spanish first went to Peru, they discovered and pillaged many such graves.[469] Much of Ecuador ...

Two engravings. [421b] When the natives of those parts, they were bathed in a cold stream, then chased round a blazing fire until they had dried out. Then they were put to bed and great care was taken to ensure their loins were dry. Vomiting was overcome by fasting for three or four days and paying careful attention to diet., which rarely included meat, except for human flesh, of which they were inordinately fond. In fact they would even fatten their enemy captives before eating them and seemed ...

Two engravings. [514] On 29th May, 1615, Spilbergen’s fleet anchored further north, off an island called Santa María that was separated by a narrow stretch of water (A), from Punta Lavapié on the mainland. Four of the ships (I) anchored in the bay, while the fifth (H) anchored closer. The Dutch went ashore in small boats (F), where they saw Spanish soldiers on horseback (B), so they arranged themselves for battle (C). There were several confrontations (E), during which many Dutchmen died but...

A brutal scene depicting native Indians tying down Spanish men and pouring liquid gold down their throats. Scenes of cannibalism in the background.In 1631 Johann Ludwig Gottfried, inherited the Theodor De Bry’s publishing firm, among the illustrated accounts of the expeditions of Magellan, Columbus, Vespucci, Cortes, Balboa, Raleigh, Drake, Smith, and many others.Gottfried issued together with Matthaeus Merian a one-volume condensation "Newe Welt Vnd Americanische Historien/ Jnhaltende Warhaff...

Almagro returned to Cuzco, disillusioned and embittered from his long and fruitless journey south into Chile, where he had been searching for further wealth. This led to a split in the control of Peru between the Pizarrists, who held the coastal regions, and the Almagrists who held the Cordillera. Further quarreling culminated in a battle just outside Cuzco in 1538, known as Las Salinas, which the Pizarrists eventually won. Almagro was subsequently garrotted and his captain, Orgóñez, beheaded....

Murder of Dominican monks in Cumana or Cubagua Island in what is now Venezuela. Scarce print (150x177mm.) on a German text sheet taken from a first edition of Johann Ludwig Gottfried's "Newe Welt Vnd Americanische Historien/ Jnhaltende Warhafftige vnd volkommene Beschreibungen Aller West-Indianischen Landschafften…" published by M.Merian in 1631.

Scarce print with a German text sheet. Many Black slaves, weary of ill treatment, managed to escape Spanish captivity and freely wandered the island, breaking into prisons and recruiting other slaves. Soon they outnumbered the Spanish and sought revenge by killing some of them. After a meeting at the governor’s palace in Santo Domingo, many Spanish soldiers were sent out to quell the rebellion by catching the Blacks by night and hanging them from trees. The Blacks learnt from this to keep a lo...

Scarce print with a German text sheet showing Cavendish’s fleet anchor at a place called Morro Moreno, on the coast of Chile. The Indians came down from the high cliffs to greet the voyagers and brought with them firewood and fresh water as a sign of friendship. Later the English were taken to their homes, which were made from two sticks in the ground, with others laid across and covered with straw. The whole family, including children, lay underneath on animal skins. They were skilled fisherm...

Scarce print with a German text sheet showing the French torching and looting Chiorera. From de Bry's "Great American Voyages". Johann Theodor de Bry (1561-1623) was born in Liège in 1561, the eldest son of the engraver and publisher Theodor de Bry. It was from his father that Johann learned his craft, producing both engravings and etchings. In 1588, the Lutheran De Bry family settled in Frankfurt am Main, a safe haven for Lutherans at this time of religious discord. Together with his father an...

Scarce print with a German text sheet. Captain Weert and the chief ate modestly on roast plantain, smoked fish and wine fermented from palm, bought by a local woman. However, when Weert ordered Spanish wine to be brought from his ship, the chief forgot his temperance and drank so much he had to be carried to rest. Weert had to stay the night but returned to his ship in the morning.On the way back he was confronted by an ugly, naked woman carrying ashes in a box. After circling him three times an...

Scarce print with a German text sheet.On certain feast-days the Indian cacique, while beating a drum, led a procession of his people to the worship of their idol, which was a strange hybrid-like creature with several heads. The men were painted black, red and yellow and came first, dressed in parrot feathers and necklaces of seashells. The women, decorated with jewellery, followed with their naked daughters. When all were assembled, the cacique inserted a stake into his throat, which made him vo...

Scarce print with German text sheet showing the Dutch attack on Praia.On 27th June 1589, Simon de Cordes left Holland with five ships, bound for the Magellan Straits. On reaching Santiago - one of the Cape Verde Islands, they decided to loot the fortress at Praia. This stood on top of a high rock whose only approach was by a narrow stairway with 175 steps. At the time the fortress was occupied by the Portuguese, under a Spanish commander. On landing, however, the Dutch were entertained by some o...

A fine map of Tierra del Fuego. With an explanatory text of the passage by Barent Jansz. Potgieter who accompanied captain Sebald de Weert to the Straits in 1599/1600, being the first Dutch vessels to sail through the Strait of Magellan, in Latin and Dutch.After various English voyages, the Dutch appeared in the Strait of Magellan in 1599. One of the Dutch pioneering voyages to the Southwest was the one by Jacques Mahu and Simon de Cordes, who were sent out by Rotterdam merchants. The five ships...

In 1624 a heavily armed Dutch fleet sailed from the Juan Fernandez Islands to Lima. The leader of the fleet, Jacob l’Hermite, was in such poor health that he had to hand over command to Admiral Jacobson. The fleet anchored outside the harbour near the island of San Lorenzo (‘I. de Lima’). The port was full of Spanish ships and was too well protected for a direct confrontation so, on the night of 11th May, the Dutch carried out a daring and devious plan. In 1631 Johann Ludwig Gottfried, inh...