Valentia Regnum. Cotestani. Ptol. Edentani Plin.

Title

Valentia Regnum. Cotestani. Ptol. Edentani Plin.

Description

Magnificent map depicts the Spanish province of Valencia, featuring three sailing ships, a sea monster, a compass rose, a mileage indicator and a title cartouche bearing a coat of arms.

ca. 1686

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 Valencian Community, also Valencian Land is an autonomous community of Spain located on the Mediterranean coast. It borders Catalonia to the north, Aragon and Castile-La Mancha to the west, and Murcia to the south, and includes the three provinces of Valencia, Alicante and Castellón de la Plana. The capital of the autonomous community is the city of Valencia. The territory of the Autonomous Community, formed in 1982, is largely identical to that of the former Kingdom of Valencia, which belonged to the Crown of Aragon. Most of the region belongs to the linguistic area of Valencian, a variety of Catalan. Valencian is an official language alongside Spanish.