This year HES & DE GRAAF Publishers will complete the publication of the facsimile of the Atlas Blaeu-Van der Hem.
The original Atlas Blaeu-Van der Hem is preserved in the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek (Austrian National Library) in Vienna. In the past years an exclusive facsimile edition of the volumes of this incredibly beautiful atlas that pertain to Africa, America & Asia, including the “secret” Atlas of the Dutch east India Company (VOC) has been prepared.

The facsimile edition of the unique Atlas Blaeu-van der Hem will include nearly 500 views, maps, charts and drawings, bound in eight folio volumes (58 x 44 cm.) The website www.blaeuvanderhem.com will inform you about all details concerning history, contents, production, quality and possibilities to acquire a set of this very limited edition.

To celebrate this occasion, an accompanying publication has been published with background information on the Atlas Blaeu-Van der Hem and the production of the facsimile. In this book, various experts on the Atlas Blaeu-Van der Hem describe the many aspects of this unique compilation atlas from the 17th century. The book contains contributions by Roelof van Gelder on the Atlas of Laurens van de Hem and his library, a detailed description of the life and works of the collector and the making of his Atlas; Truusje Goedings on the coloration of the Atlas; Erlend de Groot on the art historical aspects of a series of drawings from the Atlas; Peter van der Krogt on the Atlas Maior by Blaeu, which served as the point of departure for the Atlas; Benjamin Schmidt on the printed maps from the Atlas, and Dick Gaasbeek on the making of the facsimile of the Atlas, including a detailed description of the photography, the printing and the binding. Together with an introduction by Günter Schilder, this book further contains a catalogue with the numbers and titles of, and brief information on all the maps and images present in the 8 volumes of the facsimile.