Mallet’s 1683 Map de Cuba et de Iamaica

This engraving is from Allain Manesson Mallet’s work entitled Description de L’Univers published by Thierry in Paris in 1683.  Mallet’s description of the Universe opens with the sky, noting several theories including those of Copernic and Ticho.  He then sails around the world, creating an atlas that illustrates our world not only by maps and charts but also marks the importance of the peoples of the world, their way of living, and the cities they’ve built.  Mallet captured the universe, as he perceived it, in its entire splendor, creating a time capsule of the world and her people.