Vera Totius Expeditionis Nauticae double hemisphere map by Jodocus Hondius

Vera Totius Expeditionis Nauticae by Jodocus Hondius, created around the early 17th century, is a double-hemisphere world map celebrating a major English nautical expedition. The map combines global geography with decorative cartouches, ships, sea creatures, inset harbor views, royal arms, and Latin text describing the voyage. Its elaborate border and maritime imagery reflect the Baroque taste for maps as both geographic records and prestige objects. The work captures the age of oceanic exploration, navigation, empire, and competing European sea powers.

Jodocus Hondius was a Flemish-Dutch engraver, cartographer, and publisher active in Amsterdam and London. He became famous for his skillful map engraving and for expanding the Mercator atlas tradition. Hondius’s maps are admired for their accuracy, rich ornament, and dramatic presentation of newly explored regions. His publishing work helped make Amsterdam a leading center of European cartography.