Poictou. (Poitou) Antique Map of France by Hondius c1635

by Hondius, Jodocus/Henricus

Wonderful early map of Poictou historical region, by Hondius c1635. Previously part of the Roman province of Aquitania, Poictou in west-central France on the Bay of Biscay was contested by France and England until the end of the Hundred Years' War, when it was incorporated into the French crown lands. Top left of this map shows part of Britannia.

Original copperplate engraved map by Jodocus Hondius (1563-1611) for Mercator's atlas: containing his Cosmographicall Description of the Fabricke & Figure of the World with new Mappes and Tables; By the stuious industry of Iodocus Hondy. Englished by W. S.. published in London by Michael Sparke and Samuel Cartwright for the first English edition in circa 1635. This wonderful map is from the atlas of Gerard Mercator (1512-1594), updated by Hondius.

Gerard Mercator was a cartographer (mapmaker), philosopher and mathematician, who devoted the last 25 years of his life to the first publication to be called an "Atlas", which term Mercator used to describe a collection of maps. The word Atlas he used in recognition of the work of the legendary King of Libya who was a philosopher and astronomer, and was believed to habve constructed the first globe.

Gerard Mercator is probably best known today for his representation of the world as a flat projection, by employing mathematics to show the latitudes in straight lines to aid navigation - known today as Mercator's Projection.

This interesting little map is in Latin, so has Latin title and place names. Page size is 19 x 29cm (7.5 x 11.5 inches) with good size borders around the map.