This is a first state, Latin text, map of the American continent published in the ‘Atlas Minor’ by Johannes Cloppenburg (1571-1648). First published in the French edition of 1630, this example was printed in 1632. The work is the largest of three reductions of the folio atlas by Gerard Mercator and Jodocus Hondius. It is the rarest of the three, appearing in just three editions. Although unsigned this plate is believed to have been the work of the engraver Pieter van den Keere (1571-1646).

The map’s “cartography is classic Hondius with the familiar inaccurate mid-Atlantic coastline of North America, and the usual sweeping west coast. The fictitious islands of Frisland and Brasil continue to make their presence felt, and the Hudson Bay is left open to the west in the hope of a Northwest Passage.” (Burden). South America is exaggerated in size displaying the river networks of the Rio de la Plata and the Amazon. A large lake in the north of the continent is a reference to the mythical Lake Parime, the location of El Dorado. The tip of South America bears an incomplete Tierra del Fuego. Provenance: private collection of Juan and Peggy Rada. Burden (1996) 224; Koeman (1967) vol. 2 (listed under Mercator) ME 200 no. 5.