182. Jansson, Jan: Siciliae veteris typus.

Amsterdam, 1618.
A striking, hand-coloured copperplate map of ancient Sicily, among the earliest to bear Jan Jansson’s name. Based on Abraham Ortelius’ work for the Parergon, sive Veteris Geographiae, it was engraved by Abraham Goos in Amsterdam during 1618–19 and first appeared in Petrus Bertius’ Theatrum Geographiae Veteris, later reissued by Hondius and Jansson. Three elaborately decorated Baroque cartouches adorn the sheet: one framing the title, another enclosing an inset of the region around Syracuse – based on descriptions by Virgil and Thucydides – and a third listing ancient, unidentified Sicilian place names. The map features many locations known from classical sources and mythology. The strait between Sicily and the Italian mainland is guarded by Scylla and Charybdis, while the Via Valeria, which connects Messina and Lilybaeum (modern Marsala), is depicted crossing the island almost in a straight line, although it actually followed the coast. The reverse is blank, indicating that it was likely issued as a separate sheet or within a composite atlas before the later editions.
Dimensions: 380 × 485 (420 × 540) mm. Fine, clear copy.
van der Krogt I.: 7510H:1.2.
 
Starting price: 200 000,-