ORTELIUS – BERTIUS – HONDIUS – MALTA – 1618 – SOLD

Description

[ORTELIUS, Abraham] – BERTIUS, Petrus – HONDIUS, Jodocus, the younger, (1594 or 1595-1629)

Title of Map: MALTA (in ornamental cartouche at the bottom left corner) MELITA (on the body of the map).

Title: P. Bertij / TABVLARVM GEOGRAPHICARVM / CONTRACTARVM

Publisher: Iodocus Hondius Junior

Place: Amsterdam

Year: 1618

Engraving size: 95 x 133mm

Printing method: copper engraving

Notes: The map is on page 566 printed at the top left corner, in line with DESCRIPTION DE MALTE. at top centre. Jodocus Hondius, the younger, continued the business of his father (1563- vc 1612) at Amsterdam. After c.1621, he had his own business.

Description: Like the other maps published by Bertius, this one is basically the same as the 1570 Ortelius map with the omission of Gozo, Comino and Cominotto, and showing only a part of Filfla. It also has the title MALTA at the bottom left corner in a more elaborate cartouche and the additional French title MALTE on the body of the map but in cursive type. In addition, this Hondius plate has the four cardinal points in a border surround, a sea monster at the bottom right corner and another decorative cartouche around the scale bar of 10 miles (measuring 28mm) on the body of the map. Strangely, the shipwreck of St. Paul is not represented, there is no zigzag sea rendering, and the transcription of place names is rather shoddy. Indeed, Cala di S. Giorgio has been left out and other names are misspelt, as, Bonorai for Benorrat Marsa Maxet (Marsa Moxet), Magiarra (Megiarra), Raakibir (Raalkibir), Mekabeka (Mekabeke), Albaxac (Alhaxac), on this last name mistakenly writing a ‘b’ for an ‘h’, as after all Ortelius (or his engraver) had done when he inscribed Rabal=corme instead of the Rahalcorme on the 1551 Lafreri map. map already on mounting board prepared for framing