"Greatest Atlas" to be Offered at Sotheby's

Sotheby’s London will offer the first complete edition of the most luxurious atlas in the history of printed maps: Joannes Blaeu’s Atlas Major. The largest and most expensive book when published in the 17th-century, the Atlas Major remains the most magnificent work of its kind ever produced. Published in 1662, this first edition of the legendary atlas is one of the true masterpieces of the Dutch Golden Age. Estimated at £240,000-320,000, the Atlas Major leads Sotheby’s auction of Travel Atlases, Maps and Natural History in London on 17 November 2015. The Atlas Major covers the entirety of known world in the 17thCentury, with particular emphasis on Europe, but with separate volumes dedicated to America and China. At the time of production, the atlas’s cartography, geographical scope and craftsmanship were unprecedented. Comprising 11 large folio volumes, containing 594 engraved maps, plans, and views, all finely coloured by hand in exquisite detail, and nearly 3,000 pages of text, this massive atlas took a team of printers and binders craftsmen many months to produce. Only 300 sets are believed to have been produced, many of which were presented to Europe’s most influential figures as a tangible symbol of the artistic, intellectual and commercial power of the Republic of the United Netherlands. A coloured version of the atlas would have cost 450 guilders when first published, the same amount as would needed to buy a painting by Rembrandt at that time.