Atlas Maior, originally published between 1662 and 1665 by Dutch cartographer Joan Blaeu, was an 11-volume, cartographical masterpiece of the Baroque period. Today, it's still known as one of history's finest examples of commercial mapmaking. Tachen's reprint is made from a well-preserved, hand-colored and gold-leaf copy of the atlas in the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek in Vienna. The maps, originally printed from hand-engraved copperplates, are exquisite, if not inspired.
The Italia book features all 60 color maps and all of Blaeu's original notes (translated). Blaeu's comments provide a glimpse of the 17th-century view of the world; his introduction, while interesting, is a bit dense. Thankfully, the Italia book also includes a generously illustrated introduction from Peter van der Krogt, giving a brief history of Dutch map and atlas production, as well as some details on the making of the Atlas Maior in particular. It's unfortunate that Van der Krogt's commentary does not continue through the book; given the extraordinary qualities of the individual maps, their corresponding captions are far too brief.
However, with its large format and beautifully printed color maps, Taschen's Atlas Maior packs a great deal of value and is a worthy addition to any art or map enthusiast's book collection.
(Multilingual text is in Italian, English, and German)