Mapmakers of the Historic
Lithuanian Area: T - Z
Lithuanian Area: T - Z
Waldseemüller (Hylacomilus, Hylacomylus, Ilacomilus,
Walzenmüller), Martin (Martinus): c1475 - 1522, born Wolfenweiler,
Germany, studied in Fribourg, Switzerland, died in Lorraine, in today's Germany
Walzenmüller), Martin (Martinus): c1475 - 1522, born Wolfenweiler,
Germany, studied in Fribourg, Switzerland, died in Lorraine, in today's Germany
Cartographer who produced the first large printed world map, the first published collection of modern
maps, and some of the earliest maps made from measurements on the ground. He was the one who
suggested the name "America" for the New World, based on the writings of Amerigo Vespucci, following
Vespucci's voyage of 1501-02. (The sole surviving copy of the first wall map using the word "America"
is now in the US Library of Congress.) He created "Cosmographiae Introductio," Strasbourg, 1507 --
which included a much-copied world map: "Universalis Cosmographia..." and also edited a 1513
Strasbourg edition of Ptolemy's "Geographia" for which he was not credited, although he compiled a
special supplement for it of 20 modern maps.
maps, and some of the earliest maps made from measurements on the ground. He was the one who
suggested the name "America" for the New World, based on the writings of Amerigo Vespucci, following
Vespucci's voyage of 1501-02. (The sole surviving copy of the first wall map using the word "America"
is now in the US Library of Congress.) He created "Cosmographiae Introductio," Strasbourg, 1507 --
which included a much-copied world map: "Universalis Cosmographia..." and also edited a 1513
Strasbourg edition of Ptolemy's "Geographia" for which he was not credited, although he compiled a
special supplement for it of 20 modern maps.
Wapowski (Vapovsky), Bernhard (Bernard): 1475 - 1535, born near Przemyśl at the family's
village of Wapowce, Poland, died Cracow
His surname is from his birth village's name, and he was educated in Cracow. In 1526 Wapowski was serving as secretary to the
King of Poland (later becoming Royal Cartographer) when Nicolaus Copernicus assisted him in mapping the Kingdom of Poland
and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Worked with Marco Beneventanus in Rome revising Nicolas Cusanus's 1507 "Tabula
moderna Polonia, Ungarie, Boemie, Germanie, Russie, Lithuanie," prepared for a 1507-08 Rome edition of Ptolemy's
"Geographia." Also created a "Map of Poland" in 1525, published in Cracow, that was used by both Mercator and Munster.
village of Wapowce, Poland, died Cracow
His surname is from his birth village's name, and he was educated in Cracow. In 1526 Wapowski was serving as secretary to the
King of Poland (later becoming Royal Cartographer) when Nicolaus Copernicus assisted him in mapping the Kingdom of Poland
and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Worked with Marco Beneventanus in Rome revising Nicolas Cusanus's 1507 "Tabula
moderna Polonia, Ungarie, Boemie, Germanie, Russie, Lithuanie," prepared for a 1507-08 Rome edition of Ptolemy's
"Geographia." Also created a "Map of Poland" in 1525, published in Cracow, that was used by both Mercator and Munster.
Prolific map publisher, engraver and seller, whose work encompassed sea and
world atlases, wall maps, and "Town Books:" plans and views of European cities.
Sometime after 1647 he acquired and republished copperplates of town books
engraved by Blaeu and Jansonnius. In 1688 or 1689 he obtained a privilege
from the States General to publish his maps: atlases after that date carry the
legend "Cum Privilegio." His "Atlas" and "Atlas Major" were issued c1670-1707
in numerous editions with 17 to 190 maps. De Wit’s son Franciscus did not take
over the publishing house after his father’s death in 1706, as he was already a
prosperous stockfish merchant by this time and had little interest in his father's
business. However De Wit’s wife Maria continued the business for four years,
printing and editing De Wit's maps until 1710. In 1710 Maria sold the firm at
auction. Most of the atlas plates and some of the wall maps were sold to Pieter
Mortier (1661–1711), a geographer, copper engraver, printer and publisher
from Amsterdam. His maps were sold until 1763 by Covens and Mortier.
Others were bought by Pieter van der Aa, and Louis Renard. After Mortier’
s death, his firm eventually passed to the ownership of his son, Cornelis Mortier
and Johannes Covens I, who together founded Covens & Mortier on November
20, 1721. Covens & Mortier grew to become one of the largest cartography
publishing houses of the 18th century.
Any of his maps with a "Cum Privilegio" in the cartouche could not have been
published before 1688-89. Yet, you will find many of his maps online (but not
now on this site, I hope) dated earlier than 1688-89 having the "Cum Privilegio."
I now believe there were at least three states of the plate of "REGNI POLONIÆ
et Dvcatus LITHVANIÆ, Voliniae, Podoliae, Vcraniae Prvssiæ et Cvrlandiæ
Novissima et Correctissima Descriptio":
world atlases, wall maps, and "Town Books:" plans and views of European cities.
Sometime after 1647 he acquired and republished copperplates of town books
engraved by Blaeu and Jansonnius. In 1688 or 1689 he obtained a privilege
from the States General to publish his maps: atlases after that date carry the
legend "Cum Privilegio." His "Atlas" and "Atlas Major" were issued c1670-1707
in numerous editions with 17 to 190 maps. De Wit’s son Franciscus did not take
over the publishing house after his father’s death in 1706, as he was already a
prosperous stockfish merchant by this time and had little interest in his father's
business. However De Wit’s wife Maria continued the business for four years,
printing and editing De Wit's maps until 1710. In 1710 Maria sold the firm at
auction. Most of the atlas plates and some of the wall maps were sold to Pieter
Mortier (1661–1711), a geographer, copper engraver, printer and publisher
from Amsterdam. His maps were sold until 1763 by Covens and Mortier.
Others were bought by Pieter van der Aa, and Louis Renard. After Mortier’
s death, his firm eventually passed to the ownership of his son, Cornelis Mortier
and Johannes Covens I, who together founded Covens & Mortier on November
20, 1721. Covens & Mortier grew to become one of the largest cartography
publishing houses of the 18th century.
Any of his maps with a "Cum Privilegio" in the cartouche could not have been
published before 1688-89. Yet, you will find many of his maps online (but not
now on this site, I hope) dated earlier than 1688-89 having the "Cum Privilegio."
I now believe there were at least three states of the plate of "REGNI POLONIÆ
et Dvcatus LITHVANIÆ, Voliniae, Podoliae, Vcraniae Prvssiæ et Cvrlandiæ
Novissima et Correctissima Descriptio":
- First state cartouche: "REGNI POLONIÆ et Dvcatus LITHVANIÆ...
descriptio emendata per F. de Wit. Amstelodami" -- published 1680-88.
Baltic Sea has either 3 or 4 ships -- buyer's option. - Second state cartouche: "...per F. de Witt Cum Privilegio D.D. Ordinum
Hollandiae Westfrisiæ (note added "t" in his last name) -- published 1689-
99. Baltic Sea now has a mileage chart. - Third State cartouche: "Reipublicæ et Status Generalis POLONIÆ Nova
Tabula, Comprehendens MAIORIS et MINORIS POLONIÆ REGNI,
Magni Ducatus LITVANIÆ...Accuratum Descriptionem Per F. de Wit
Amstelodami, Cum. Priv. D.D. Ordin. Holl. Westfrisiæ" (His name is back
to one "t") published beginning 1700, with a mileage chart.
Wit, Frederick de: 1629 or 1630 - 1706. Born Gouda, died Amsterdam
Zatta, Antonio: Flourished 1750 - 1804, d.1804, Venice
Venetian publisher and printer. His output included "Atlante novissimo...," 240 maps in four volumes, Venice, 1775-85, with
engravings by G. Pitteri, G.V. Pasquali and G. Zuliani; and "Nuovo atlante," c1799.
Venetian publisher and printer. His output included "Atlante novissimo...," 240 maps in four volumes, Venice, 1775-85, with
engravings by G. Pitteri, G.V. Pasquali and G. Zuliani; and "Nuovo atlante," c1799.
Weigel Family: engravers and publishers in Nuremberg
Christoph the Elder (1654 - 1725), was a goldsmith, engraver, illustrator and publisher -- brother to Johann Christoph (1661 -
1726), engraver and art dealer, and uncle to Christoph the Younger (c. 1702-77). They worked with other publishers, including
Johann David Köhler and Adam Friedrich Zürner (1679-1742, Geographer of Poland) -- for whom J.C . Weigel engraved maps of
Germany in 1715 for "Continuirter Atlas Portatilis Germanicus," whose editions went to 1765. Also, Christoph the Elder's map
"Poloniӕ & Lithvania accurante curatius,"published c. 1715-20, appears to have been originally inscribed "Polonia & Lithvania..,"
the "a" in Polonia hastily changed to "ӕ," a change not made to the end of "Lithvania." Contrary to many sources, "REGNUM
POLONIÆ ejusque confinia" was not engraved by Weigel for "Atlas Portatilis Germanicus" -- that map does not appear in
that atlas. Weigel and his family published the map of Poland-Lithuania in "Atlas portatilis, oder, Compendieuse Vorstellung der
gantzen Welt..." in three editions: 1717, 1724 (Tooley says 1720) and 1745. Individual sheets of that map were also sold at fairs. A
re-engraved -- possibly by Petrus Schenk -- version with different labeling in the cartouche and elsewhere was claimed published
by Zürner in 1729-30., but that change happened right after the first edition. An identification guide based on having looked at
every page of four atlases, and comparing 15 different prints with claimed publication dates from 1715 to 1770:
Christoph the Elder (1654 - 1725), was a goldsmith, engraver, illustrator and publisher -- brother to Johann Christoph (1661 -
1726), engraver and art dealer, and uncle to Christoph the Younger (c. 1702-77). They worked with other publishers, including
Johann David Köhler and Adam Friedrich Zürner (1679-1742, Geographer of Poland) -- for whom J.C . Weigel engraved maps of
Germany in 1715 for "Continuirter Atlas Portatilis Germanicus," whose editions went to 1765. Also, Christoph the Elder's map
"Poloniӕ & Lithvania accurante curatius,"published c. 1715-20, appears to have been originally inscribed "Polonia & Lithvania..,"
the "a" in Polonia hastily changed to "ӕ," a change not made to the end of "Lithvania." Contrary to many sources, "REGNUM
POLONIÆ ejusque confinia" was not engraved by Weigel for "Atlas Portatilis Germanicus" -- that map does not appear in
that atlas. Weigel and his family published the map of Poland-Lithuania in "Atlas portatilis, oder, Compendieuse Vorstellung der
gantzen Welt..." in three editions: 1717, 1724 (Tooley says 1720) and 1745. Individual sheets of that map were also sold at fairs. A
re-engraved -- possibly by Petrus Schenk -- version with different labeling in the cartouche and elsewhere was claimed published
by Zürner in 1729-30., but that change happened right after the first edition. An identification guide based on having looked at
every page of four atlases, and comparing 15 different prints with claimed publication dates from 1715 to 1770:
Tirion, Isaac (also spelled Isac, Isaak, and once, Isauc) (c. 1705-69) and his first and second wives
(the second, Johanna, carried on the business for ten years after Isaac's death, until 1779) Amsterdam
booksellers and publishers of atlases with maps mostly based on the work of Delisle. Koeman says "Tirion probably was not the
author or editor of the maps he published. He was more of a bookseller and publisher than a geographer or cartographer." The
first reworked Delisle-Tirion maps were actually published in Venice by Giambattista (Giovanni Battista) Albrizzi in "Atlante
Novissimo che contiene tutte le parti del Mondo..," published in 1740 and 1750. The title page of volume 1 (of two) from 1740
states that all of the maps except the first (Mappa Mondo), including "Regno di Polonia diviso nei suoi Palatinati," were
printed (not created or engraved) by Tirion. One source describes (I now believe incorrectly) Albrizzi's atlas as just a
republishing of Delisle's "Atlas de Géographie," pubished 1700 - 1718, and republished in Amsterdam by Covens & Mortier in
Amsterdam between 1730 and 1774(!). Tirion first published his own atlas in Amsterdam beginning 1744: "Nieuwe en Beknopte
Hand Atlas von...steden van Europe..." with five more editions published through 1779 and possibly later. A version of this atlas
described as "After 1769" states that Tirion says the maps were "after Bolstra, Cruquius, de la Caille, de L'Isle, d'Anville,
Hattinga and others." Dating his maps of "Polonia" or "Poolen" separated from the atlases in which they were published can be
problematic -- and this research has led me to change the publication dates of quite a few Tirion maps on this site, maps that had
impossible publication dates from many reputable sources, including museums. What's clear to me:
(the second, Johanna, carried on the business for ten years after Isaac's death, until 1779) Amsterdam
booksellers and publishers of atlases with maps mostly based on the work of Delisle. Koeman says "Tirion probably was not the
author or editor of the maps he published. He was more of a bookseller and publisher than a geographer or cartographer." The
first reworked Delisle-Tirion maps were actually published in Venice by Giambattista (Giovanni Battista) Albrizzi in "Atlante
Novissimo che contiene tutte le parti del Mondo..," published in 1740 and 1750. The title page of volume 1 (of two) from 1740
states that all of the maps except the first (Mappa Mondo), including "Regno di Polonia diviso nei suoi Palatinati," were
printed (not created or engraved) by Tirion. One source describes (I now believe incorrectly) Albrizzi's atlas as just a
republishing of Delisle's "Atlas de Géographie," pubished 1700 - 1718, and republished in Amsterdam by Covens & Mortier in
Amsterdam between 1730 and 1774(!). Tirion first published his own atlas in Amsterdam beginning 1744: "Nieuwe en Beknopte
Hand Atlas von...steden van Europe..." with five more editions published through 1779 and possibly later. A version of this atlas
described as "After 1769" states that Tirion says the maps were "after Bolstra, Cruquius, de la Caille, de L'Isle, d'Anville,
Hattinga and others." Dating his maps of "Polonia" or "Poolen" separated from the atlases in which they were published can be
problematic -- and this research has led me to change the publication dates of quite a few Tirion maps on this site, maps that had
impossible publication dates from many reputable sources, including museums. What's clear to me:
- Delisle-Tirion-Albrizzi: "REGNO DI POLONIA," is from Albrizzi's 1740 Venice atlas
- Delisle-Tirion-Albrizzi: "REGNO DI POLONIA, DIVISO NEI SUOI PALATINATI," appears to be an intermediate
version of the previous map, from 1740, and the one that follows, from 1750. The cartouche is a simple box, in the
style of Tirion's 1744 "Nieuwe Kaart...Poolen," but excising nearly all of Tirion's verbiage. There must have been a
third Albrizzi atlas, c1745, from which this version came - Delisle-Tirion-Albrizzi: "NUOVA CARTA del REGNO DI POLONIA, Diviso nei suoi Palatinati, Secondo l'ultime
offervazioni ed anotazioni, fata in AMSTERDAM, per ISAK TIRION" (New Map of the Kingdom Of Poland, Divided
into its Palatinates, according to the latest observations and annotations, printed in Amsterdam by Tirion), is from
Albrizzi's 1750 Venice atlas - Delisle-Tirion: "Nieuwe Kaart van t' Koninkryk Poolen..." (New map of the Kingdom of Poland) cannot be
from earlier than Tirion's 1744 Amsterdam atlas, but could be from up to 40 years later
| 1730 detail of Covens et Mortier's republished Delisle map, the basis for the Albrizzi and Tirion Poland maps |
| 1740 detail of Delisle-Tirion- Albrizzi map from Albrizzi's Venice atlas |
| 1744 - 1784 detail of Delisle-Tirion map from Tirion's Amsterdam atlas |
| c. 1745 detail of Delisle-Tirion Albrizzi map |
| 1750 detail of Delisle-Tirion- Albrizzi map from Albrizzi's 1750 Venice atlas |
| 2nd state |
| 1st state |
| 3rd state |
van Schagen/Schaagen, Gerrit Lucasz (Gerardus a Schagen) (ca.
1642 – 1690 or 1724, Amsterdam
An engraver and cartographer known for his art prints, after those of French printmaker/
etcher Jacques Callot, from "The Large Miseries of War," and for reproductions of maps,
particularly of those by de Wit and Nicolaes Visscher I. His copy of the First State (1680-88) of
de Wit's cartouche on his map of "REGNI POLONIÆ et Dvcatus LITHVANIÆ.." differs only
in his replacement of de Wit's name with his own. Given that both de Wit and van Schagen
lived and worked in Amsterdam, and that de Wit's "privilege" was granted 1688-89, van
Schagen appears to have made just enough changes in the map to steer clear of a lawsuit. Note
van Schagen's superior outline of the Baltic Sea island of Bornholm, among others, and the
slightly different plate dimension (as noticed by www.antique-maps.lt). I suspect van Schagen
first published his version after the granting of de Wit's privilege, or c1690.
1642 – 1690 or 1724, Amsterdam
An engraver and cartographer known for his art prints, after those of French printmaker/
etcher Jacques Callot, from "The Large Miseries of War," and for reproductions of maps,
particularly of those by de Wit and Nicolaes Visscher I. His copy of the First State (1680-88) of
de Wit's cartouche on his map of "REGNI POLONIÆ et Dvcatus LITHVANIÆ.." differs only
in his replacement of de Wit's name with his own. Given that both de Wit and van Schagen
lived and worked in Amsterdam, and that de Wit's "privilege" was granted 1688-89, van
Schagen appears to have made just enough changes in the map to steer clear of a lawsuit. Note
van Schagen's superior outline of the Baltic Sea island of Bornholm, among others, and the
slightly different plate dimension (as noticed by www.antique-maps.lt). I suspect van Schagen
first published his version after the granting of de Wit's privilege, or c1690.
| 1717 Confirmed First Edition |
| 1745 Claimed Third Edition |
| 1724 Confirmed Second Edition |
| c. 1770 Claimed |
| Longitude #'s have shifted |
| Unique lettering |
| Unique "Memmel" position |
| Horizontal "Memmel" begins |
| All labels redone |
| First State |
| Second State |
| Third State |
| Fourth State |
| No compass rose |
| Refined engraving |