This beautifully engraved hand coloured original antique Title page from Gerard Mercator's Italy & SW Europe section was published in the 1589 edition of the Geographia atlas.
After the sale of Mercator's plates to in 1605, Hondius continued to publish the original plates with little alteration until 1630 when along with Jansson many of the original plates were altered or re-engraved either decoratively or topographically or both. This map is from one of the last unaltered editions of Mercator's atlas. (Ref: Koeman, Tooley)

Condition Report
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color: - off white
Age of map color: - Original
Colors used: - Red, yellow, green, blue
General color appearance: - Authentic
Paper size: - 16in x 10in (405mm x 255mm)
Plate size: - 11 1/2in x 7 1/2in (290mm x 190mm)
Margins: - Min 1in (25mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - Repair to bottom right corner
Plate area: - None
Verso: -

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