Scenes are drawn to scale: the sofa is 84 in wide, the desk 60 in, the door 80 in tall. Switch sizes above to compare.
Step 1 — set the scale. Drag the slider until the gold bar on the photo is the height of a standard doorway (80 in / 203 cm). Every size you pick is then drawn true to life.
Step 2 — drag the print to where it would hang, and change size or frame above to compare.
Antique World Maps
De Wit World Map, 1688
Nova Orbis Tabula in Lucem Edita — Frederick de Wit, Amsterdam
From the Library of Congress, Geography & Map Division · 1688
$129Charged in USD at checkout; local currency shown for reference.
Source scan:LOC. Rights statement of the archive: “The content of the Library of Congress Geography and Map Division digitized collections is free to use and reuse unless a Rights Advisory statement is present that indicates otherwise. Credit Line: Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division.” Original map: Frederick de Wit, 1688, 1 map : hand col. ; 2 hemispheres each 27 cm. in diam., on sheet 54 x 71 cm.. Verified 2026-09-13.
This product is a new archival print made from a restored scan of that map. It is not an original antique and is not sold as one.
The story of this map
Frederick de Wit set up shop in Amsterdam just as the great houses of Blaeu and Jansson were winding down, and he made his name by producing maps that were, frankly, prettier than theirs. This world map, Nova Orbis Tabula in Lucem Edita, is his best-known sheet. The Library of Congress copy is dated around 1688 and was coloured by hand when it was new.
Two hemispheres sit side by side, with small polar projections tucked above and below the gap between them, and the four corners are given over to lively allegorical scenes of figures, animals and sky. The colouring is what makes the copy special: washes of green, rose and ochre on the continents, a pale blue at the coasts, all applied by a colourist working over three centuries ago. On a wall it reads warm and decorative rather than stern.
The Library’s sheet has lived a life. It was folded down the middle and once pinned along a cloth tape, and our restoration softens that fold and fills the pin holes while leaving everything de Wit engraved untouched.
It belongs to our Antique World Maps collection and makes a gentle counterpoint to the more formal Blaeu map, or a good bridge to Moll’s English world map of a generation later. Think bedroom, living room or a reading corner. 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.
Restoration notes
Restoration plan: the Library copy is fold-lined vertically down the centre with pin holes along a cloth tape; soften the fold shadow, fill the pin holes and remove the tape edge from the margins. Crop scan margins, balance colour cast and levels while keeping the paper tone and hand colour, 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.
Pairs well with
Hang them together — 10% off the second framed print
Informational purposes only, no warranties, not professional advice. All products are new archival prints made from restored scans of historical maps held by public archives; they are not original antiques. Colours vary by screen and by paper.
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