GOOS. DE ZEE-ATLAS OFTE WATER-WEERELD. 1668 [1669]

Folio (570 x 352mm.), dedication leaf, 16 pages of text in Dutch, including index of 40 charts, printed title within elaborate engraved allegorical border incorporating vignette, 41 double-page or folding engraved sea and coastal charts, CONTEMPORARY HAND-COLOUR, some heightened in gold, all mounted on guards, original Dutch vellum gilt, scattered marginal tears or repairs, minor browning or spotting, binding slightly worn

Koeman IV, Goos 5A (the charts as 1B, with most revisions as described under 5A); National Maritime Museum III.92 & 94

Condition is described in the main body of the catalogue, where appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
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A FINELY HAND-COLOURED COPY, comprising 41 double-page engraved charts as called for by Koeman, including a chart uncalled for in the index 'Paskaerte van de Zuijdt en Noordt Revier en Nieu Nederlant, Streckende van Cabo Hinloopen tot Rechkewach'. This copy conforms to Koeman, with the exception of map number 4, 'Pas-Caart van der Oost Zee', is dated 1666 in the present copy, and not 1669; map number 12 'Pas-Caart vant Canaal', is dated 1666 and 1665, and not 1669. Map number 14 'Paskaarte om Achter Yrlandt' is dated 1669, and map number 17 ' Pas-Caart van Hispangien' is dated 1669. Four of the maps have additional decorative compass roses, that were added to this edition.

Although Goos was one of the best-known maritime booksellers of Amsterdam, and responsible for publishing a number of different sea-atlases or pilots, his work was very much derivative. For example, in the case of the Zee-Atlas, Goos relied heavily on Hendrick Doncker’s Zee-Atlas, published in 1659, for his charts.

Goos’s background was more as an engraver – following on from his father Abraham. Unlike Doncker and his other contemporaries, Pieter Goos’s intention was less to produce a functional sea-atlas but more a visually appealing volume to be consulted in a library environment – hence the emphasis on the title-page on the utility of the atlas to “Heeren en Kooplieden” (gentlemen and merchants) in advance of “Schippers en Stuurlieden” (pilots and seamen).

Unlike his rivals, Goos never undertook substantial revision of his Zee-Atlas, either of the text or charts. Indeed, there are only minor differences between editions. The standard form of the index calls for forty charts, which can be assumed to be the expected complement, but the Zee-Atlas was also available with forty-one charts, and individual examples of the various editions can be found with an additional chart. Perhaps the most famous chart in the volume is the “Paskaert van Nova Grenada, en t’Eylandt California”, one of the two earliest Dutch printed charts to focus on the “island” of California, a famous and long-lived cartographic misconception.

Goos’s atlas is the most aesthetically pleasing of the early Dutch sea-atlases. Koeman notes that “The... beautiful sea-atlas reflect[s] a high professional standard. The many editions published over twenty-five years are an indication of the customers’ appreciation”.