- -Commentary by Robert W. Karrow, Jr., Curator of Special Collections and Curator of Maps, Newberry Library
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Gerardus Mercator’s Atlas is
the greatest work of a man who revolutionized cartography. “Mercator’s
Projection,” a new and vastly more precise method of mapping, has
immortalized the Flemish geographer and instrument maker. His other great
innovations involved simple terminology: the word “Atlas,” after
the Titan who held up the universe, here first applied to a collection
of world maps (and one of the very few examples of Renaissance allegory
to survive in our modern vocabulary), and application of the name “America”
(1538) for the entire New World – Waldseemüller before him (1501)
had restricted the term to that portion (South America) actually visited
by Amerigo Vespucci. The first two parts of the Atlas were published
in 1585 and 1589: they covered France, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy,
and the Balkans. The third and final part was left unfinished on Mercator’s
death; his son completed the work. This Octavo Edition reproduces the
first collected edition, from a beautifully hand-colored copy, bound in
contemporary calf, and features the first publication of a complete English
translation of the text.
The original book imaged for this digital edition:
17 1/4 x 11 1/2 inches (438 x 292 mm)
The original book imaged for this digital edition:
17 1/4 x 11 1/2 inches (438 x 292 mm)
Restorative Renderings
Europe in 1538 was a shattered world. The Lutheran schism had split European society along religious lines; the Peasants’ War seemed to presage large-scale social fracture; in the Netherlands, Charles V was using terror to quell dissent, and his Inquisition would soon call Mercator to account. For Mercator, geographical description was more than the practical matter of locating places or showing how to get from one point to another. The cartographer is homo faber; he can split the world in unfamiliar and uncomfortable ways, but he also has the means, through mathematical reasoning, to bind it up so that it approaches once more the divine unity.
Europe in 1538 was a shattered world. The Lutheran schism had split European society along religious lines; the Peasants’ War seemed to presage large-scale social fracture; in the Netherlands, Charles V was using terror to quell dissent, and his Inquisition would soon call Mercator to account. For Mercator, geographical description was more than the practical matter of locating places or showing how to get from one point to another. The cartographer is homo faber; he can split the world in unfamiliar and uncomfortable ways, but he also has the means, through mathematical reasoning, to bind it up so that it approaches once more the divine unity.
Humanist Hand
One of Mercator’s most important contributions to cartography was in helping to establish legibility in lettering. In 1540 Mercator published the first manual of the italic hand to be printed outside Italy. Far from a sideline, this work is entirely consistent with his profound desire to find first principles. For any map or other written communication to be effective, it must be clearly and legibly written. The humanist hand used by ecclesiastical secretaries in Italy was exceptionally legible, and thanks to its dissemination throughout the churches of Europe, it was in a position of becoming a European standard. Mercator used italic exclusively on his maps and it has remained a staple of cartographic lettering up to the present day.
One of Mercator’s most important contributions to cartography was in helping to establish legibility in lettering. In 1540 Mercator published the first manual of the italic hand to be printed outside Italy. Far from a sideline, this work is entirely consistent with his profound desire to find first principles. For any map or other written communication to be effective, it must be clearly and legibly written. The humanist hand used by ecclesiastical secretaries in Italy was exceptionally legible, and thanks to its dissemination throughout the churches of Europe, it was in a position of becoming a European standard. Mercator used italic exclusively on his maps and it has remained a staple of cartographic lettering up to the present day.
Cartographic Coloring
The history of color in maps is largely the story of the interplay of decoration and function, of nature and artifice in representational and symbolic coloring. Of course it is not always possible, or even necessary, to distinguish these elements. Cartographic coloring, like many poetic representations, is both symbolic and representational. Nature imitates art as often as art follows nature. The Turkish and Arabic designation for the Mediterranean, the White Sea, no longer survives in the Western world, but the Black Sea and the Red Sea are presences still. Water, however, was not “black” for the ancient Greeks, and no one has found the Red Sea to be “red”: it was possibly an indication of direction, for the cardinal points have their own varied symbolism – usually red for the south, yellow for east, black for north, and white for west.
The history of color in maps is largely the story of the interplay of decoration and function, of nature and artifice in representational and symbolic coloring. Of course it is not always possible, or even necessary, to distinguish these elements. Cartographic coloring, like many poetic representations, is both symbolic and representational. Nature imitates art as often as art follows nature. The Turkish and Arabic designation for the Mediterranean, the White Sea, no longer survives in the Western world, but the Black Sea and the Red Sea are presences still. Water, however, was not “black” for the ancient Greeks, and no one has found the Red Sea to be “red”: it was possibly an indication of direction, for the cardinal points have their own varied symbolism – usually red for the south, yellow for east, black for north, and white for west.
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