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Hesslo Gerardo [Hessel Gerritsz.]; Blaeu : Tabula Russiae ex autographo, quod delineandum curavit Foedor filius Tzaris Boris desumcta; et ad fluvios Dwinam, Zuchanam, aliaque loca, quantum ex tabulis et notitiis ad nos delatis fieri potint, amplificata: ac Magno Domino, Tzari, et Magno Duci Michaeli Foedrowits omnium Russorum, Autocratori Wolodimeriae, Moscoviae et Novogardiae, Tzari Cazaniae, Tzari Astracaniae, Tzari Sibieriae, Domino Plescoviae Magno Duci Smolenscoiae, Otweriae, Iugoriae, Permiae, Wiatkiae, Bulgariae etc: Item Domino et Magno Duci Novogardiae Inferioris etc: Domino regionum Iveriae Kartalinie et Groesiniae Tzari etc: dedicata ab Hesselo Gerardo

Blaeu, Amsterdam, c. 1645

Hand Colored, Very Good; laid down on acid-free tissue paper for long-term preservation., Size :

The upper left corner of the map features an inset city plan of Moscow, while the title cartouche in the lower left is crowned with the Russian shield. Three Russian men converse in the middle of the right side, standing above a view of the port of Archangelsckagoroda (modern Arkhangelsk). Tall ships adorn the Arctic Ocean and the Caspian Sea. Latin text on verso is beneath the title "Russia, sive Moscovia," on signature leaf A (page 1).


Gerritsz. apprenticed to Willem Blaeu as an engraver, then eventually left him to set up his own business in Amsterdam. He became the Dutch East India Company's official mapmaker in 1617, responsible for the compilation of travelers' logs and their use in updating the Company's maps. He performed this role until his death in 1632 when his old mentor, Willem Blaeu, succeeded his position as the Dutch EIC's official mapmaker., Tooley II:158-9.

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