Gerard de Jode (also known as Petrus de Jode; – 5 February 1591) was a Netherlandish

cartographer Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an im ...

, engraver, and

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

who lived and worked in

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

. In 1547, De Jode was admitted to the

Guild of St. Luke The Guild of Saint Luke was the most common name for a city guild for painters and other artists in early modern Europe, especially in the Low Countries. They were named in honor of the Four Evangelists, Evangelist Saint Luke, Luke, the patron sa ...

, and began his work as a publisher. He frequently printed the works of other cartographers, including

Giacomo Gastaldi Giacomo Gastaldi ( c. 1500 in Villafranca Piemonte – October 1566 in Venice) was an Italian cartographer, astronomer and engineer of the 16th century. Gastaldi (sometimes referred to as JacopoTooley, R.V, and Charles Bricker, ''Landmarks ...

's world map in 1555, Jacob van Deventer's map of the

Duchy of Brabant The Duchy of Brabant was a State of the Holy Roman Empire established in 1183. It developed from the Landgraviate of Brabant and formed the heart of the historic Low Countries, part of the Burgundian Netherlands from 1430 and of the Habsburg Neth ...

in 1558, and

Ortelius Abraham Ortelius (; also Ortels, Orthellius, Wortels; 4 or 14 April 152728 June 1598) was a Brabantian cartographer, geographer, and cosmographer, conventionally recognized as the creator of the first modern atlas, the ''Theatrum Orbis Terrarum ...

' eight-sheet world map in 1564.

Background

His most outstanding work is a two volume atlas '' Speculum Orbis Terrarum'' published in 1578. It was aimed at competing with another atlas, ''

Theatrum Orbis Terrarum ''Theatrum Orbis Terrarum'' (, "Theatre of the Orb of the World") is considered to be the first true modern atlas. Written by Abraham Ortelius, strongly encouraged by Gillis Hooftman and originally printed on 20 May 1570 in Antwerp, it consist ...

'' by Ortelius, published eight years earlier in 1570. The competing atlas had become so popular by the time he finally published his own atlas however, that his version never sold well, despite his outstanding reputation. Only about a dozen examples have survived. De Jode made plans for another enlarged edition, which was uncompleted at his death in 1591. His son

Cornelis de Jode Cornelis de Jode (1568 – 17 October 1600) was a cartographer, engraver and publisher from Antwerp. He was the son of Gerard de Jode, also a cartographer. Cornelis studied science at Academy of Douai (info on birth and death dates and pl ...

took over and published the ''

Speculum Orbis Terrae ''Speculum Orbis Terrae'' ("Mirror of the World") was an atlas published by Cornelis de Jode in Antwerp in 1593. The atlas was largely a continuation of unfinished works of his father, Gerard de Jode, who died in 1591. Contemporary scholars consid ...

'' in 1593. This never sold well either. Scholars consider many of De Jode's maps to be superior to those of Ortelius, both in detail and style. In constructing his world map, ''Hemispherium Ab Æquinoctiali Linea, Ad Circulum Poli Antarctici'', published in 1593, De Jode was strongly influenced by

Guillaume Postel Guillaume Postel (25 March 1510 – 6 September 1581) was a French people, French linguist, astronomer, Christian Kabbalah, Christian Kabbalist, diplomat, polyglot, professor, Religious universalism, religious universalist, and writer. Born in ...

's 1581 polar planisphère, ''Polo aptata Nova Charta Universi''. De Jode was probably the maker of a globe made in Antwerp that also owes much to the cosmographic ideas of Guillaume Postel.Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris, Département des Cartes et Plans, Rés. Ge AA 1255. Described in Marcel Destombes, "An Antwerp unicum: an unpublished terrestrial globe of the 16th century in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris", in Gunter Schilder, Peter van der Krogt, Steven de Clercq (eds.), ''Marcel Destombes, 1905–1983: Selected Contributions to the History of Cartography and Scientific Instruments,'' Utrecht and Paris, HES Publishers and A.G. Nizet, 1987, ''HES Studies in the History of Cartography and Scientific Instruments,'' Vol. 3, pp. 337–343, 348. ''Speculum Orbis Terrarum'' was once the object of an attempted theft from the

Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library The Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library () is the rare book library and literary archive of the Yale University Library in New Haven, Connecticut. It is one of the largest buildings in the world dedicated to rare books and manuscripts. Es ...

, by rare map thief

Forbes Smiley Edward Forbes Smiley III (born April 13, 1956) is an American former rare map dealer and convicted art thief. He was found guilty in 2006 of stealing 97 rare maps originally valued at more than US$3 million, and sentenced to 42 months in prison. ...

. Smiley was caught and arrested after a library staff member found his X-Acto knife on the floor.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jode, Gerard De 1510s births 1591 deaths 16th-century Flemish cartographers 16th-century Dutch cartographers Dutch engravers Early modern Netherlandish cartography Scientists of the Habsburg Netherlands Belgian cartographers Belgian engravers Book publishers (people) of the Habsburg Netherlands Painters from Antwerp People from Nijmegen Year of birth uncertain