BLAEU, Johannes (1596-1673)]. Æthiopia superior vel interior, [Amsterdam: c. 1645], hand-coloured engraved map, 380 x 495mm., framed and glazed. With Hondius's Guineae nova descriptio ([Amsterdam, 1606 or later]). (2)

BLAEU, Johannes (1596-1673)]. Æthiopia superior vel interior, [Amsterdam: c. 1645], hand-coloured engraved map, 380 x 495mm., framed and glazed. With Hondius's Guineae nova descriptio ([Amsterdam, 1606 or later]). (2)

Starting bid£100
Estimate £200 - £300
Absentee deadlineDec 3, 2025, 5:00:00 PM

BLAEU, Johannes (1596-1673)].  Æthiopia superior vel interior, vulgo Abissinorum sive Presbiter Joannis Imperium. [Amsterdam: c.1645]. Hand-coloured engraved map, cartouche flanked by four figures of indigenous peoples, with elephants, ostriches and other wildlife (some very light spotting and staining), 380 x 495mm., framed and glazed. Norwich Maps of Africa 154; Tooley Africa p.29. Based on Ortelius's map of 1573, Blaeu's map depicts north-eastern Africa and the fabled Christian kingdom of Prester John ("Presbiter Joannis Imperium"). For a full and fascinating account of this abiding historical hoax and cartographic anomaly, see Edward Brooke-Hitching's "The Phantom Atlas. The Greatest Myths, Lies and Blunders on Maps" (London, 2016, pp.194-7). With Judocus Hondius's Guineae nova descriptio (Amsterdam, [1606 or later], hand-coloured engraved map, 345 x 495mm., framed and glazed). Norwich 316. (2)