top of page

Carta particolare dell canale fra Inghilterra è Franciache comincia (with Silly)

Dudley's chart of the southern Cornish coast. First map with latirudes and longitudes according to the Mercator projection:

Type of object:

Maps and globes

Time period:

1714 Act of Longitude

Place:

Florense

Date:

1646

Maker / Author:

Antonio Francesco Lucini

Publisher / Printer:

Robert Dudley

Dimensions:

75x 51 cm

Material:

Paper copper print

Graduation:

Inscription:

Verso Blanc

Provenance:

Arcano del Mare

References:

Lord Wardington, 'Sir Robert Dudley and the Arcano del Mare', The Book Collector 52 (2003), pp.199-211

Image by Austin Neill

Description

first edition map with latitude and longitudes. The zero meridian runs through the isle Picco of the Azores.From the sumptuous atlas, first published in 1646 when its author, Robert Dudley, was 73, was not only the first sea atlas of the world, but also the first to use Mercator's projection; the earliest to show magnetic deviation; the first to show currents and prevailing winds; the first to expound the advantages of 'Great Circle Sailing' – the shortest distance between two points on a globe; and "perhaps less importantly the first sea-atlas to be compiled by an Englishman, all be it abroad in Italy" (Wardington)
The first sea-atlas of the whole world
The first atlas with all the charts using Mercator’s projection
The first to give prevailing winds and currents
The first to give magnetic declination
The first to expound the benefits of ‘Great Circle Sailing’

Additional information

bottom of page