Tartaria (Tartary), with Hondius’s address ‘Jodocus Hondius lectori salutem: in hac Tartariae descriptione omnem adhibuimus diligentiam...’, Mercator-Hondius Atlas, 1623 issue
Tartaria. Jodocus Hondius lectori salutem In hac Tartariae descriptione omnem adhibuimus diligentiam ut ... quoddam.
Gerard Mercator (atlas); Jodocus Hondius (map and address to the reader); Henricus Hondius (1623 issue)
How we know
compilation Assembled from earlier sources. The author did not observe it directly.
Compilation: Hondius states in the cartouche that he assembled the map from the best available authors; content follows Ortelius/Jenkinson with Mercator's 1595 Asia frame; no observation.
Research notes
- Not independent: derived from Ortelius 1570 (Jenkinson) and Mercator; the 1607 Atlas Minor version (Rumsey image 11201431) is a reduced copy. Mercator's own 1595 atlas had no separate Tartaria sheet; the sheet was added by Hondius in 1606.
Why it matters
The Hondius 'Tartaria' is the standard atlas image of Tartary for 1606-1640 and the direct model for Blaeu and Jansson; its cartouche text is an explicit statement of method (compiled from authors, not surveyed), useful for the presentation's transmission argument.
Places named
Tartaria; Cathaio; Mongul; Kirgessi; Siberia region; Ob; Caspian; Strait of Anian; northwest America
Who copied whom
- this one was drawn from it (stated)Mercator 1569 is parent of the Hondius Tartaria of 1606 (via the 1595 Asia)
- Tartaria sive Magni Chami Imperium M050, c. 1640drawn from this one (stated)Blaeu Tartaria from Hondius 1606
- drawn from this one (probable)Katib Celebi's Cihannüma outlines from the Mercator-Hondius Atlas Minor
Keep exploring
The maps drawn just before and just after this one.
