Exquisita & magno aliquot mensium periculo lustrata et iam retecta Freti Magellanici facies.

Important early map of the Straits of Magellan, predating the discovery of the Straits of Le Maire. A classic early Mercator map, featuring 3 large strapwork cartouches, one of which includes a profile view of the entrance to the Strait. The ornate compass rose point downward, indicating North at the bottom of the map. 7 sailing ships and both land and sea creatures are illustrated. The Southern Land is identified as Tierra Del Fuogo. In the Strait, there are approximately 15 place names identified, along with 30-40 soundings. Rhumb lines emanate from the compass rose. The coast line of Tierra del Fuego quickly turns from charted lands to conjecture, trailing off to become a part of the unknown southern continent. The geographic details for the map of the Straits of Magellan came from Bernardus Joannis Monasteriensis who had participated in the first Dutch expedition to sail through the Straits in 1599-1600. That expedition, which was led by the Duke Sebaldi de Waerdt, is portrayed on the map in the form of six sailing ships flying the Dutch Flag in what is labeled the “Mar del Zur.” The map was printed from a copper plate engraved by Lambert Cornelisz in 1606. Made prior to the confirmation of a route around Tierra del Fuego, the Strait was, at that time, the only passage between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Controlled by the Dutch, exorbitant fees were charged for the passage. One of the most fascinating and decorative of all regional American maps, illustrating an important period in the history of the discovery of the Americas and water routes from the Atlantic to the Pacific, predating the discovery of Cape Horn in 1616.

Very good condition; some wormholes expertly repaired, some show through