de Wit, Frederick "Atlas"

Frederick de Wit. "Atlas". 

Amsterdam: Frederick de Wit, ca. 1680. Engraving. 17 1/2 x 10. Original hand color. Very good condition. 

A handsome title page from Frederick de Wit's atlas of about 1680. De Wit followed in the footsteps of his Dutch predecessors, Blaeu, Jansson and Hondius, in producing some highly decorative and finely crafted atlases. This title page shows Atlas, the Titan, standing at the North Pole holding up the heavens. The globe shows Europe, Asia and Africa, and contains an early depiction of Australia.