Old Map of Ireland, Hibernia in 1654 by Joan Blaeu - Dublin, Cork, Limerick

This is a beautifully restored reproduction of an exceedingly rare seventeenth-century map of Ireland, titled in Latin Hibernia Regnum, or 'The Kingdom of Ireland'. It was engraved and hand-coloured by the celebrated Dutch cartographer Joan Blaeu, working from his renowned workshop in Amsterdam, and was first published in 1654 as part of his monumental atlas, the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum Sive Atlas Novus (New Theatre of the World). Blaeu's atlases were amongst the most admired and lavishly produced works of the Dutch Golden Age of cartography, prized for their artistry as much as their geographic accuracy, and this map of Hibernia remains one of the finest surviving depictions of Ireland from that era.

Look closely and you will find many towns and settlements that still anchor Ireland today, rendered in the Latinised spellings used by seventeenth-century mapmakers. Dublin appears as the seat of government, alongside Cork and Limerick along the southern and western coasts, Belfast to the north, Armagh as an ancient ecclesiastical centre, and County Mayo tracing the wild Atlantic seaboard. The coastline is fringed by the Irish Sea to the east and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, while the map is finished with the decorative flourishes typical of Blaeu's workshop, including an ornamental title cartouche, a compass rose, and delicately rendered sailing ships out at sea. Every parish boundary, bay, and headland was drawn from the best surveys available in the mid-1600s, making this a genuine window into how Ireland was understood by the outside world nearly four centuries ago.

Because it captures the whole island in one sweeping view, this map makes a thoughtful gift for a housewarming, a retirement, a wedding, or a milestone birthday for anyone with Irish roots, as well as a distinguished corporate gift for a company with Irish ties. It would also suit a Christmas present for a family historian tracing ancestry back to Dublin, Cork, or County Mayo. Every fine engraved line and hand-coloured detail from Blaeu's original plate has been carefully restored, so the intricate lettering, coastal shading, and decorative ornament remain crisp and vivid.