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Novi Belgii 1671
Arnold Montanus (1625-1683)
Arnoldus Montanus (c.1625-1683) is best known for “De Nieuwe En Onbekende Weereld”, published in 1671, considered the first encyclopaedia of the Americas.
This was re-issued in Dutch, translated by Olfert Dapper and published by Jacob van Meurs, in Amsterdam in 1673, and John Ogilby published then English translation in 1671 as “America; Being The Latest, And Most Accurate Description Of The New World …”.
Montanus’ volume is one of the earliest detailed textual accounts of the Americas, although primarily focussing on the Dutch possessions, and South America. This thick volume was illustrated with a series of maps and views; the maps are largely reductions of the comparable maps from Blaeu’s “Theatrum …”, the most comprehensive and detailed collection of maps of the Americas available at the time. MonThis map is a carefully engraved, and faithful reduction, at approximately two-thirds size, of Blaeu’s map of the same title, first issued in 1635.