Ducatus Gelriae pars Tertia Quae est Comitatus Zutphaniensis

Title

Ducatus Gelriae pars Tertia Quae est Comitatus Zutphaniensis

Description

Map shows the province of Utrecht and Gelderland in the Netherlands with a title cartouche of a compass rose and several coats of arms.

ca. 1660

Artist

Janssonius (1588-1664)

Johannes Janssonius (Jansson)( 1588- 1664) Amsterdam, was born in Arnhem, the son of Jan Janszoon the Elder, a publisher and bookseller. In 1612 he married Elisabeth de Hondt, the daughter of Jodocus Hondius. He produced his first maps in 1616 of France and Italy. In 1623 Janssonius owned a bookstore in Frankfurt am Main, later also in Danzig, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Berlin, Königsberg, Geneva and Lyon. In the 1630s he formed a partnership with his brother in law Henricus Hondius, and together they published atlases as Mercator/Hondius/Janssonius. Under the leadership of Janssonius the Hondius Atlas was steadily enlarged. Renamed Atlas Novus, it had three volumes in 1638, one fully dedicated to Italy. 1646 a fourth volume came out with ""English County Maps"", a year after a similar issue by Willem Blaeu. Janssonius' maps are similar to those of Blaeu, and he is often accused of copying from his rival, but many of his maps predate those of Blaeu and/or covered different regions. By 1660, at which point the atlas bore the appropriate name ""Atlas Major"", there were 11 volumes, containing the work of about a hundred credited authors and engravers. It included a description of ""most of the cities of the world"" (Townatlas), of the waterworld (Atlas Maritimus in 33 maps), and of the Ancient World (60 maps). The eleventh volume was the Atlas of the Heavens by Andreas Cellarius. Editions were printed in Dutch, Latin, French, and a few times in German.

Historical Description

The province of Utrecht, with its capital Utrecht, is the smallest province in the Netherlands. Utrecht is the seat of the Dutch Archbishop and the headquarters of the Nederlandse Spoorwegen (Dutch Railways) as well as several banks. It is also an important university city. Utrecht was first mentioned in documents in 1375. It was originally an ecclesiastical area. Together with Overijssel, the Upper Abbey, Utrecht, the Lower Abbey, was administered by the bishops of Utrecht as imperial princes. In the many conflicts between Holland and Guelders, the bishops of Utrecht usually sided with the Dutch. During the Eighty Years' War, the States General took power. The province has had its current structure since 1814.