Blaeu World Map 1664 — Framed Antique World Map Print

The story of this map

Joan Blaeu ran the most celebrated map house of the Dutch Golden Age, and this is the world map he put at the front of his great Atlas Maior. The Library of Congress copy is dated 1664, and it shows why Blaeu’s name still carries weight: two big hemispheres, crisp copperplate lettering and a border that is as much a picture as the map itself.

Look at the top edge first. The sun sits at the centre, flanked by the planets as classical figures riding through the sky, while the four seasons stretch along the bottom. Between the globes you get small polar views and celestial diagrams, the kind of extras that reward standing close. Out in the Pacific the coastlines of Hollandia Nova and Van Diemen’s Land record what Abel Tasman had brought back only a couple of decades earlier, and California still floats as an island.

Amsterdam in the 1660s was the centre of the world’s trade, and a map like this was a way for a merchant to say so on his wall. Three and a half centuries later it does the same job for a study, a hallway or above a sofa, where the warm paper tone and soft colour sit comfortably with wood, brass and linen.

It anchors our Antique World Maps collection and hangs well beside the Hondius and De Wit hemispheres. Each print is made to order on archival matte paper and framed in the country of delivery.

Before and after

Left: the archive scan exactly as published. Right: the file that goes to the printer.

Blaeu World Map, 1664: archive scan compared with the restored print

Archive scanRestored

Restoration notes

Restoration plan: crop scan margins, balance colour cast and levels while keeping the paper tone, remove library stamps and scanner artefacts if present, gentle sharpening. No repainting of original content.

Every print carries its archive credit on the packing slip. Paper tone and small imperfections of the original are kept on purpose; nothing is redrawn.

Questions

Is this an original antique map?

No. It is a new archival print of a restored high-resolution scan of the 1664 map held by the Library of Congress, Geography & Map Division. We never sell originals.

What is actually printed on it?

The full sheet: both hemispheres, the top border with the sun and planets, the four seasons along the bottom, and the small polar and celestial diagrams between the globes, with the Latin title.

How big is the map on the sheet?

The 1664 sheet is about 51 x 77 cm with each hemisphere roughly 39 cm across. We keep the same proportions and add a narrow margin, so the map fills most of whichever size you choose.

Does it come framed?

You can order it as a loose archival matte paper print, on stretched canvas, or framed in black, white or natural oak. Framed prints arrive ready to hang.

Colours vary between screens and paper. The tone you see here is a close match to the archival matte print; framed prints have no glass glare in these previews.

Pairs well with

Hang them together — 10% off the second framed print

Hondius World Map, 1641

Henricus Hondius / Jan Jansson · Library of Congress

$129 24×18 in framed · paper from $35

De Wit World Map, 1688

Frederick de Wit · Library of Congress

$129 24×18 in framed · paper from $35

The discount is applied automatically at checkout when two or more framed prints are in the cart.

Size	Metric	Best for
16×12 in	41×30 cm	Desk, shelf, small wall, gallery groupings
18×12 in	46×30 cm	Desk, shelf, small wall, gallery groupings
20×16 in	51×41 cm	Above a desk or console, hallway, bedroom
24×16 in	61×41 cm	Above a desk or console, hallway, bedroom
24×18 in	61×46 cm	Above a desk or console, hallway, bedroom
30×20 in	76×51 cm	Over a sofa or bed, statement wall, office
30×24 in	76×61 cm	Over a sofa or bed, statement wall, office
32×24 in	81×61 cm	Over a sofa or bed, statement wall, office
36×24 in	91×61 cm	Over a sofa or bed, statement wall, office

Blaeu World Map, 1664

Before and after

Restoration notes

Hang them together — 10% off the second framed print