Barentsz, Willem

Folio (420 x 320mm.), engraved title with French text on an overslip, folding general chart of the Mediterranean, 9 double-page engraved charts, woodcut coastal profiles in the text, original limp vellum, inkstamp of the Medici Palatine library on title, [Koeman IV Bar 4C], general chart cut close and repaired with slight loss at foot, Sicily chart also cut close, one or two rust-spots

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The French-language edition of the first pilot of the Mediterranean with printed charts. Willem Barentsz's pioneering chart book of the Mediterranean first appeared in Dutch in 1595, and “set the standard for all future pilot guides" (Koeman). It forms the logical next step to Waghenaer's Spieghel der Zeevaerdt. Before 1595, the only printed description of the Mediterranean appeared in Waghenaer's Thresoor der Zeevaert, but this was without charts. Manuscript chart-books of the Mediterranean - or portolans -  drawn by Italian pilots were well known in the sixteenth century, and many of Barentsz's charts bear resemblance to their work. It is debatable to what extent the Barentsz charts are derivative from these earlier maps, however one can be reasonably certain that the text and coastal profiles are original to the present work. At the rear of the atlas Barentsz added a text of an Italian portolan, translated into Dutch by Marten Eveart of Brugge. Comparison has proved that the translation was made from Paulo Gerado's Il Portolano del Mare, published in 1584.

Barentsz's chartbook would continue to be the only pilot of the Mediterranean until Blaeu published the third part of his Licht der Zeevaert in 1618. Although Blaeu's work surpassed Barentsz's in accuracy and detail, the charts themselves were subsequently reissued by Janssonius in 1626, and again with the plates heavily re-engraved in 1654.

Rare in any form. We are unaware of another complete example coming up for sale in the last thirty years. Koeman only records one institutional copy of the present edition: that in Yale University Library, which lacks the general chart of the Mediterranean.