Iceland Map 1640 Blaeu Tabula Islandiae Print - Iceland, Hekla Volcano, Sea Monsters, Compass Rose

This finely colored example of the Carolus map of Iceland, titled Tabula Islandiae Auctore Georgio Carolo Flandro, was published by Willem Janszoon Blaeu in Amsterdam in the first half of the seventeenth century. The catalog praises it highly, and it includes an erupting volcano, sea monsters, sailing ships, decorative cartouches, a compass rose and the spectacular landscape of Iceland. The scholar who wrote Mapping Iceland described it as the most important map of Iceland after those of Ortelius and Mercator, which gives it a special place in the cartography of the island. It is a handsome sheet, and the strong color of its sea and its monsters make it easy to enjoy from across a room.

The map was originally published by Jodocus Hondius and reprinted by Blaeu from the same engraved copper. It updates the earlier Mercator map of the island, which had become overused, and it credits Joris Carolus, who had personally visited Iceland, as its source, although Blaeu also reused a number of place names from Ortelius. It adds new islands and fjords, some of them fictional, with little change in the interior. The motive seems to have been to give consumers something new, and despite its errors the map was copied by many others for a long time after its publication.

Anyone who loves Arctic cartography, a family with roots in Iceland, or a collector of Blaeu will find a splendid gift here. TheMapVault's Hondius sheet of 1629 is the first issue of the same map, whereas this Blaeu example is the reprint from the Amsterdam house that gave it wide circulation. Like every print in the collection, it ships unframed and is available in a full range of sizes, from a compact desk piece to a large-format statement print. It would suit a study or a library, where its sea monsters may be enjoyed at leisure.