Nova et Accurata Poli Arctici et terrarum Circum Iacentium Descriptio

A striking mid-17th-century map of the Arctic Circle.

This spectacular map of the Arctic presents one of the most influential depictions of the North Polar regions produced during the 17th century. Published in Amsterdam in 1637 as part of the first edition of Jan Jansson’s influential Atlas Novus, the work is a paramount example of Golden Age Dutch cartography, balancing the era’s latest maritime discoveries with an opulent aesthetic flair. The polar projection encompasses northern Europe and Asia, Greenland, Iceland, Scandinavia, and Arctic North America, with information drawn from the voyages of explorers including Henry Hudson, William Baffin, Martin Frobisher, John Davis, and Thomas James.

The map is particularly interesting for its treatment of the Northwest Passage. Although European explorers remained convinced that a navigable route to the Pacific might exist through the Arctic, Janssonius’s geography suggests that no such passage traversed northern North America. Hudson Bay and its surrounding waters are depicted in considerable detail following Thomas James’s 1631-32 expedition, while the unexplored northwestern coastline is conveniently concealed beneath the elaborate title cartouche. In contrast, the Russian Arctic is portrayed with considerably greater confidence, and the map suggests the possibility of a navigable Northeast Passage along the northern coast of Asia.

Beyond its geographic importance, the map is richly decorated with the visual language of Arctic exploration. Ships sail through the polar seas, while elaborate compass roses and curved rhumb lines radiate toward the North Pole. The title cartouche features two figures that represent western Europe’s conception of the frigid northern latitudes: a ‘Wild Man’ emblematic of the indigenous populations and an old merchant in thick furs, a personification of winter itself. A second cartouche, lower right, features a pair of hunters and their quarry – a large gray wolf and two foxes.