Jodocus Hondius | |
|---|---|
 Jodocus Hondius on a 1619 engraving byColette van den Keere | |
| Born | 17 October 1563 Wakken, Belgium |
| Died | 12 February 1612(1612-02-12) (aged 48) Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Cartography |
Jodocus Hondius (Latinized version of hisDutch name:Joost de Hondt) (17 October 1563 – 12 February 1612) was aFlemish and Dutchengraver andcartographer. He is sometimes calledJodocus Hondius the Elder to distinguish him from his son Jodocus Hondius II. Hondius is best known for his early maps of theNew World andEurope, for re-establishing the reputation of the work ofGerard Mercator, and for his portraits ofFrancis Drake. He inherited and republished the plates of Mercator, thus reviving his legacy, also making sure to include independent revisions to his work.[1] One of the notable figures in theGolden Age of Dutch cartography (c. 1570s–1670s), he helped establishAmsterdam as the center ofcartography in Europe inthe 17th century.
Hondius was born inWakken and grew up inGhent. In his early years he established himself as anengraver, instrument maker and globe maker. In 1584 he moved toLondon with his sisterJacomina to escape religious difficulties in Flanders. In 1587 in London he marriedColette van den Keere (sometimes known as Colette Hondius), daughter ofHendrik, anengraver of metal type, and collaborated with her brotherPieter, also a mapmaker and engraver.[2][3]
While in England, Hondius was instrumental in publicizing the work ofFrancis Drake, who had made acircumnavigation of the world in the late 1570s. In particular, in 1589 Hondius produced a now famous map of the bay ofNew Albion, where Drake briefly established a settlement on the west coast ofNorth America at Drake's Cove, California.[4] Hondius is also thought to be the artist of several well-known portraits of Drake that are now in theNational Portrait Gallery in London. Also Hondius had engraved charts in the Mariners Mirrour (1588) and thegores for the first English globes, those ofEmery Molyneux completed in 1592.[5]
In 1593, accompanied by his wife and Pieter van der Keere, he moved to Amsterdam where he remained until the end of his life. In co-operation with the Amsterdam publisher Cornelis Claesz in 1604 he purchased the plates of Gerard Mercator'sAtlas from Mercator's grandson. Mercator's work had languished in comparison to the rivalTheatrum Orbis Terrarum byOrtelius. Hondius republished Mercator's work with 36 additional maps (which were added to 107 original maps), including several which he himself had produced. Despite the addition of his own contributions, Hondius gave Mercator full credit as the author of the work, listing himself as the publisher. Hondius's new edition of Mercator's work was a great success, selling out after a year. Hondius later published a second edition, as well as a pocket versionAtlas Minor. The maps have since become known as the "Mercator/Hondius series".[6] Hondius was a cousin ofAbraham Goos, and he taught Goos mapmaking and engraving.[7]
In the French edition of theAtlas Minor we find one of the first instances of athematic map usingmap symbols. This is a map entitledDesignatio orbis christiani (1607) showing the dispersion of major religions.[8]
Hondius used copper plates to printJohn Speed's atlasThe Theatre of the Empire of Great Britaine, which was published in 1611/2.[9]
Hondius died, aged 48 (1612), inAmsterdam. After his death, his publishing work in Amsterdam was continued by his widow, two sons, Jodocus II andHenricus, and son-in-lawJohannes Janssonius, whose name appears on theAtlas as co-publisher after 1633.[10] Eventually, starting with the first 1606 edition in Latin, about 50 editions of theAtlas were released in the main European languages. In the Islamic world, the atlas was partially translated by theTurkish scholarKâtip Çelebi. The series is sometimes called the "Mercator/Hondius/Janssonius" series because of Janssonius's later contributions.
Scholars have argued that the globes depicted in celebrated 17th-century painterJohannes Vermeer's 1668The Astronomer and 1669The Geographer were based on a pair of globes by Hondius.[11] Close inspection of these two globes reveals striking similarities to a pair of globes made in 1618 by Hondius. The globes were made as pendants, one depicting the earth while the other depicted the constellations. In Vermeer'sThe Astronomer the scholar consults a version of Hondius' celestial globe and inThe Geographer Hondius' terrestrial globe can be seen placed atop the back cabinet. A version of Hondius' celestial globe can be found in theScheepvaartmuseum in Amsterdam and the terrestrial globe can be found in the Hispanic Society Museum & Library in New York City.[citation needed]
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