Lacus Lemanni

Splendid Dutch Golden Age map of Lake Geneva and the surrounding area, embellished with a grand title cartouche crested by the coat of arms of Geneva.



Blaeu credits the map source as Jacques Goulart, who was a noted Swiss theologian and map maker whose survey of the lake was used by several major 17th century Dutch cartographers. The survey first appeared in Jodocus Hondius's atlas in 1606 on an orientation showing south on the upper part of the map and with an illustrated border depicting portraits of notable individuals of the region on the lower margin. It was then re-orientated with north on the upper margin and used by Vrients in late editions of the Ortelius atlas and further used by the Hondius family, this time in its later iteration as well as Jansson and Blaeu.


It is not known if Goulart issued the map commercially himself.


Latin text on verso (image available on request). Original hand colour. [SWAS1543]