The Mercator–Hondius Map of Ireland — Myth and Memory in Print
Mercator–Hondius antique map of Ireland (1634, Dutch edition)
The Mercator–Hondius antique map of Ireland (1634, Dutch edition) that we have on sale now is more than just a beautiful piece of 17th-century Irish cartography. It is a rare survival from the Dutch Golden Age of maps, a time when Amsterdam printers dominated world publishing and reshaped how Europe understood geography. Today, this rare copperplate map stands out not only for its craftsmanship but also for the extraordinary story it tells about Ireland’s origins, people, and landscape.
A Map from the Dutch Golden Age
The map was engraved by Gerard Mercator, one of the greatest names in cartography, and reissued by Jodocus Hondius in Amsterdam. While Mercator atlas maps were published in both Latin and Dutch, the Dutch-text Mercator atlas is significantly rarer. Unlike the Latin editions, which were dense with scholarly citations, the Dutch leaves were written for merchants, regents, and wealthy households — making them accessible, narrative-driven works of geography.
The Iberian Origins of Ireland
What makes this antique map of Ireland for sale especially remarkable is its text. The Dutch description (Beschryvinghe van YRland) preserves a unique explanation of Ireland’s name: that it derives from “Hibero, a Spanish commander,” who first settled the island. This theory links directly to the Milesian origin myth found in the medieval Book of Invasions, which claimed the Irish descended from settlers who came from Iberia (Spain).
The presence of this Iberian origin of Ireland story in a widely published atlas is extraordinary. It means that one of the few printed continental attestations of Ireland’s mythic ancestry was delivered not to scholars in Latin, but to a broad European audience in Dutch. It is this storytelling quality that makes the Dutch Mercator–Hondius atlas culturally invaluable.
Ireland in the 17th Century
The descriptive leaves also detail Ireland’s climate, fertility, and natural wealth. The text praises the abundance of cattle, salmon-filled rivers, and wildfowl in marshes, presenting Ireland as a land of prosperity. Its people are described as tall, handsome, faithful, and brave in war, while its women are noted for their beauty and chastity. This blend of observation, myth, and admiration makes the Hondius antique maps far more than tools of navigation; they are cultural portraits.
Collecting and Legacy
For collectors today, this rare map of Ireland is prized for several reasons:
It is a Dutch-text Mercator atlas leaf, scarcer than the Latin.
It contains mythic references absent in other editions.
It survives complete with both descriptive pages, making it museum quality cartography.
As an investment-grade antique map, it appeals not only to map collectors but also to those interested in Irish heritage prints and the Irish diaspora collectibles market. Owning a piece like this is to hold a direct connection to how Ireland was explained to the world in the early modern period.
At Lumenrare, we specialise in rare map collectors Ireland can trust, offering only pieces of cultural and historical importance. This framed antique map of Ireland is a reminder that even in our digital age, early printed maps remain profound cultural heritage prints — windows into the past, crafted in copper, preserved for you.