page_title: Jodocus Hondius
section_title: Biography
hierarchical_section_title: Jodocus Hondius / Biography
caption_attribution_description: Latina: Asiae Novo Descriptio Auctore Jodoco Hondio English: "A new description of Asia". Note the presence of two Khanbaliqs (Combalich in the land of "Kitaisk" on the Ob River, and Cambalu, in "Cataia") and one Beijing (Paquin, in Xuntien (Shuntian)) Русский: "Новое описание Азии". Заметьте 2 Ханбалыка и одни Пекин
context_page_description: Jodocus Hondius was a Flemish engraver and cartographer. He is sometimes called Jodocus Hondius the Elder to distinguish him from his son Jodocus Hondius II. Hondius is best known for his early maps of the New World and Europe, for re-establishing the reputation of the work of Gerard Mercator, and for his portraits of Francis Drake. One of the notable figures in the Golden Age of Dutch/Netherlandish cartography, he helped establish Amsterdam as the center of cartography in Europe in the 17th century.
context_section_description: Hondius was born in Wakken and grew up in Ghent. In his early years he established himself as an engraver, instrument maker and globe maker. In 1584 he moved to London to escape religious difficulties in Flanders. In 1587 in London he married Colette van den Keere, son of Hendrik, an engraver of metal type, and collaborated with her brother Pieter, also a mapmaker and engraver.
  While in England, Hondius was instrumental in publicizing the work of Francis Drake, who had made a circumnavigation of the world in the late 1570s. In particular, in 1589 Hondius produced a now famous map of the bay of New Albion, where Drake briefly established a settlement on the west coast of North America. Hondius's map was based on journal and eyewitness accounts of the trip and has long fuelled speculation about the precise location of Drake's landing, now thought to be at Drakes Estero in California. Hondius is also thought to be the artist of several well-known portraits of Drake that are now in the National Portrait Gallery in London.
  In 1593 he moved to Amsterdam, where he remained until the end of his life. In co-operation with the Amsterdam publisher Cornelis Claesz. in 1604 he purchased the plates of Gerard Mercator's Atlas from Mercator's grandson. Mercator's work had languished in comparison to the rival Theatrum Orbis Terrarum by Ortelius. Hondius republished Mercator's work with 36 additional maps, including several which he himself had produced. Despite the addition of his own contributions, Hondius gave Mercator full credit as the author of the work, listing himself as the publisher. Hondius's new edition of Mercator's work was a great success, selling out after a year. Hondius later published a second edition, as well as a pocket version Atlas Minor. The maps have since become known as the "Mercator/Hondius series". Hondius was a cousin of Abraham Goos, and he taught Goos mapmaking and engraving.
  In the French edition of the Atlas Minor we find one of the first instances of a thematic map using map symbols. This is a map entitled Designatio orbis christiani (1607) showing the dispersion of major religions.
  Between 1605 and 1610 he was employed by John Speed to engrave the plates for Speed's The Theatre of the Empire of Great Britaine.
  Hondius died, aged 48, in Amsterdam. After his death, his publishing work in Amsterdam was continued by his widow, two sons, Jodocus II and Henricus, and son-in-law Johannes Janssonius, whose name appears on the Atlas as co-publisher after 1633.
  Eventually, starting with the first 1606 edition in Latin, about 50 editions of the Atlas were released in the main European languages. In the Islamic world, the atlas was partially translated by the Turkish scholar Kâtip Çelebi. The series is sometimes called the "Mercator/Hondius/Janssonius" series because of Janssonius's later contributions.
caption: Hondius's (or his predecessors') use of multiple sources can be illustrated by this map of Asia, which shows Beijing three times: twice as Khanbaliq (Combalich in the land of "Kitaisk" on the Ob River, and Cambalu, in "Cataia") and once as Paquin (Beijing), in the prefecture of Xuntien (Shuntian)
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