De Vaste Kusten en Eylanden van Indien van Pegu af, tot aan de Moluccos, etc. [The Mainland Coasts and Islands of India, from Pegu up to the Moluccas, etc.]

Description

copper engraving.

UNCOMMON map including the Philippines, from Pieter van der Aa’s Naaukeurige Versameling der Gedenk-waardigste Zee en Land-reysen, na Oost en West-Indien (“Accurate Collection of the Most Memorable Sea and Overland Voyages to the East and West Indies”), a significant collection of notable voyages published in Leyden (Leiden) by Pieter van der Aa. The work features Dutch translations of early accounts of Portuguese exploration compiled by historian João de Barros (Décadas da Ásia), for which these maps were specifically engraved to illustrate. In the publisher’s system, maps and illustrations were bound alongside specific chapters and carried margin attributions designating the explorer featured in that section — in this case, marking the monumental expeditions of Vasco da Gama, whose pioneering maritime routes to India laid the groundwork for Portuguese trade and expansion across Southeast Asia and the East Indies.

Pieter van der Aa (1659–1733) was a prominent Dutch publisher, bookseller, and engraver. He entered the bookselling trade at just nine years old and eventually established his own bookshop and auction house. Throughout his career, van der Aa published a large number of maps and became particularly renowned for his atlases documenting explorations and important voyages. Many of his publications were composite atlases, incorporating plates and prints produced by other leading publishers and engravers, including Carel Allard and Frederik De Wit, alongside works created by van der Aa himself.