Embellir pour mieux dire

des ornement sur la carte de l'amérique de jodocus hondiu (1606)

Abstract

While a map is a representation of a territory, it often also reflects a particular worldview. This is the case with this map of the American continent, engraved by the Flemish cartographer Jodocus Hondius (1563–1612) in 1606 in Amsterdam, of which BAnQ has recently acquired a copy from an edition published in 1613 or 1616¹ by his wife, Coletta van den Keere². Although he was himself a cartographer, Hondius regarded himself first and foremost as the publisher of the work of Gerardus Mercator (1512–1594), whose plates he had acquired ten years after his death.³ In 1606, despite competition from Abraham Ortelius’s superb atlas, Hondius’s first edition of Mercator’s general atlas sold out within the year.⁴ In this work, until 1630, two maps of the whole of America coexisted: one engraved by Michael Mercator, Gerard’s grandson, the other, this *America*, a compilation by Hondius. But whilst the former is accompanied by a text describing the continent, Hondius’s *America* is not accompanied by any commentary. This absence makes the various ornaments all the more valuable, as they not only embellish it but also enhance its documentary richness: Native Americans busy around a cauldron or sailing in canoes, sea monsters, tropical birds, familiar or more exotic boats; none of these elements is purely decorative. On the contrary, this imagery is rich in meaning and helps to flesh out the vision of the New World conveyed by the map.