
A reproduction of a very pretty wall map of the world from mid-17th century, size 62x 53cm / (24.5”x 21” approx), with the two hemispheres accompanied by circular insets showing the Polar Regions & surrounded by colourful drawings. Drawn by Frederick de Wit (1629/1630 – 1706) & originally published in Amsterdam around 1665, the map is not dated but Australia is annotated as “ Detecta 1644”. The map provides a fascinating picture of the extent of geographical knowledge in mid-17th century: quite accurate presentation of the coastlines of Africa or South America but not much was known then about western North America & eastern Australia is still blank. Equally contrasting are the two insets of the Polar Region, already much of the Arctic is shown but nothing around the “ Polus Antarcticus”. Lovely colourful drawings surrounding the map present a very jolly picture of the world full of wine & happy cherubs!