[Map of Peru] Le Perou grand pays de l’Amérique Meridionale

Antique map of Peru by the notable Dutch publisher Pieter van der Aa. This original map is oriented with the north to the left and also covers part of the present-day territories of Ecuador, Bolivia and Chile. It presents profuse topography and identifies cities such as Guayaquil, Cuenca, Cajamarca, Cochabamba, Lima, Trujillo, Arequipa and Lake Titicaca, among others. It features a decorative cartouche in which one can appreciate a European figure, two native figures, a llama, some mermaids and various weapons. Pieter van der Aa (1659-1733) was a prolific Dutch publisher and a great compiler of voyages of exploration. Each of these voyages, made between 1246 and 1696, was published in his monumental 30-volume work titled Naauwkeurige Versameling der Gedenk-Waardigste Zee en Landreysen, na Oost en West-Indien (1706-08). He was part of a family of booksellers and publishers in Leiden, which prospered towards the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th centuries. His work showed great quality and was highly valued by his contemporaries. The maps he produced are distinguished by their attractive cartouches and by their high level of cartographic precision, aspects that make them easily recognisable.