GOOS, Pieter (1616–1675). Pascarte Van’t Westlycke Deel van OOST INDIEN. Amsterdam: 1666-1669.

GOOS, Pieter (1616–1675). Pascarte Van’t Westlycke Deel van OOST INDIEN. Amsterdam: 1666-1669.

Single sheet (25 ¾ x 21 ½ inches, full margins with platemark). Fine engraved map, gilded, with original hand color, of the east coast of Africa to the west coast of India (lightly toned, rare spotting).

Beautifully hand colored map of the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean, possibly colored by the school of Dirk Janzoon Van Santen. Van Santen was a distinguished colorist working in Amsterdam at the end of the 17^th century, and was known for his lavish gold work often complimented with other expensive pigments such as ultramarine (Goedings 20). The contrasting gold rays found in the sunburst above the cartouche of this map, as well as the meticulous detailing of the Equator, the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, the compass rose, the ships, and the cartouche point to a master colorist.

During the seventeenth century, Amsterdam stood at the vanguard of sea chart production.  With the expansion of the Dutch marine and mercantile empires it is of little surprise that this particular city excelled in the field with the most up-to-date information arriving with the country's sailing fleet.

The Goos' were one of many families to derive a living from the creation of sea charts. This stunning map comes from Pieter Goos' atlas of sea charts, De Zee Atlas ofte Water-Weereld.  The son of noted engraver Abraham Goos, he was one of the most important booksellers in Amsterdam during the second half of the seventeenth century, as well as an accomplished engraver.  His first pilot was the Zee-Spiegel of 1650 which covered largely European waters.  The Zee Atlas covered the whole world.  Both atlases were well produced and aimed as much at the merchant, as the sea-going pilot. 

Designed to appeal to the armchair traveller, Goos's prospective clients were "Heeren en Kooplieden" (gentleman and merchants) before "Schippers en Stuurlieden" (pilots and seamen). Based on Hendrick Doncker's "Zee-Atlas" of 1659, particularly for its charts, and reprinted several times without much revision: 20 editions of Goos’ ‘Zee-Atlas’ were published between 1666 and 1683, a testament to its enduring popularity.

For more information about this map, or a warm welcome to see it and other books in our library at 72nd Street, NYC, please contact Tara Mishkovsky, M.A. in the Rare Book Department. Bookseller Inventory # 72TM024