This is the second copperplate of Ortelius'.

Allegorical scene allegorical image celebrating the circumnavigation of the earth by Ferdinand Magellan. The image shows Magellan on board of his ship, surrounded by mythological figures including Apollo with sun and lyre, Zeus on his throne of clouds, Adam and Eve. A bird carrying an elephant and a depiction of the Tierra del Fuego.The image also includes cannon, banner with the double-headed Hapsburg eagle, anchor, broken mast, navigational instruments such as armillary sphere and dividers, se...

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...

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...

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. 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 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 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...

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....

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...

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.

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...

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...

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. [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 ...

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...

FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE OF THIS MAP. Decorated with ships and monsters in the sea. Orientated with east at the top. With the signature of G. Blaeuw lower right corner. Shows the Pacific coast of South America from Ecuador (at the left-hand side) as far south as the Atacama desert in the northern reaches of Chile. "As early as 1520, Spanish settlers in Panama had heard tales of a powerful civilization rich in gold that lay to the south, and in 1522 an expedition was organized to find this land...

Willem Blaeu's very decorative map of Chili with two large and beautiful cartouches, a compass and ships. From early on Willem Jansz. Blaeu aimed of publishing an atlas to compete with the Hondius-Janssonius Atlas. By 1630, he had published at least 17 folio size maps. Blaeu was able to realize his plan soon after he had acquired the copper plates of the atlas maps by Jodocus Hondius. The "Appendix followed in 1630.In 1635 he finally realized a "international edition" of a world atlas, the "The...

Decorative engraving of the fourth sea battle with the Portuguese fleet offshore at the Rio Grande, in 1640. Engraved by J. van Brosterhuyzen after a design by Frans J. Post (1612-1680). Below the engraving a numbered key (1-6). Signed in the plate "F. Post 1645" and decorative title cartouche, with "[Quartum praelium coniovian inter et fluvium Rio Grande XVII Jan" in the upper left corner.Taken from C. BARLAEUS, Rerum per octennium in Brasilia (...).

A highly detailed and rare sea chart of the mouth of the Orinoco River, Trinidad, Tabago, St.Vincent and neighboring islands. Oriented with north to the right by two compass roses.A large inset shows Tobago on a larger scale. Taken from De Nieuwe Groote Lichtende Zee-Fakkel, Part IV.Decorative scale cartouche features Neptune with his entourage and natives with trade goods. The chart is further adorned with a monkey atop the title cartouche and a sailing ship.