Antique, engraved and hand colored map of France by Willem (Guilielmus) Janszoon Blaeu (1571-1638). Titled Galloflandria in qua Castellania. Map in custom gold frame measures 22" x 25.5". Map and frame in very good condition.
Willem Janszoon Blaeu (1571–1638) was one of the most influential Dutch cartographers, globemakers, and astronomers of the Golden Age. Born in Alkmaar, he abandoned the family herring trade to pursue science and craftsmanship, studying astronomy and instrument making under Tycho Brahe in 1595. By the late 1590s, Blaeu had established himself in Amsterdam as a maker of globes, instruments, and maps, initially publishing under the name Guiljelmus Janssonius before adopting the Blaeu patronym in the 1630s.
Appointed official cartographer to both the Dutch East India Company (VOC) and the Dutch Republic, Blaeu played a central role in shaping the visual language of early modern geography. His landmark publication, the Atlas Novus (1635), remains one of the greatest atlases ever produced. After his death in 1638, the Blaeu firm passed to his sons, who continued its success until the Great Fire of Amsterdam in 1672. Blaeu’s legacy endures through his maps, atlases, and lasting influence on cartography, navigation, and scientific thought.
