Jodocus Hondius (1563 - 1612)

Jodocus Hondius grew up in Ghent where he began work as an instrument maker, globe maker and engraver. In 1584 however, Hondius moved to London to escape the religious troubles in Flanders.

While in London his work as an engraver led him, in the years between 1605 and 1610, to be employed by John Speed to engrave the plates for Speed's 'The Theatre of the Empire of Great Britaine'. In 1593 Hondius settled in Amsterdam and in 1604 Hondius bought the plates of Gerard Mercator's 'Atlas' from Mercator's grandson. Despite the quality of Mercator's Atlas it had been unable to compete successfully with Ortelius's 'Theatrum Orbis Terrarum'. However, in 1606 Hondius re-published the Mercator atlas with the addition of 36 maps, some of which he had produced himself.

The atlas was published under Mercator's name with Hondius named as publisher. The re-issue was a success and after a year the entire stock had sold out and a second edition was published as well as a pocket edition called the 'Atlas minor'.
Jodocus Hondius died in 1612 and the work of the publishing house was carried on by his widow and two sons Jodocus II and Henricus and later still, in parnership with Jan Jansson whose name appears on the Atlas as co-publisher from 1633.

Altogether, from 1606 onwards, around 50 editions were published with text in the principal European languages and as a result of the success of the Mercator/Hondius/Jansson Atlas Amsterdam achieved the status of principal centre of cartography until the end of the seventeenth century.