In 1682 Joannes Ribbius and Simon de Vries published a work on the curious manners, customs, history and linguistics of the people of the East and West Indies. It illustrated the region’s geography with a series of maps that were engraved by Antoine de Winter, a Utrecht born engraver. The source for the cartography was Nicolas Sanson’s similar work first published in Paris, 1657. There were no geographical improvements. Indeed, Dutch claims to the New Netherlands were still stated, and the English in Carolina are not recognised.

The following year in 1683, de Vries and Ribbius published two further editions of Nicolas Sanson’s four part geography of the world first issued in 1657. The cartography for the new series of maps as we have seen is derived from this same work. The size of the project would indicate that the production of the plates would have been proceeding for a while. To make use of some of the plates they were utilised for the previous years’ publications, although arguably not produced directly for them. It is not known which of the two works in 1683 appeared first, the Dutch edition was entitled ‘Geographise en Historische Beschryving’. The French [offered here] bore four titles, one for each continent, the America being L’Amerique en plusieurs cartes nouvelles. The Dutch is the rarer of the two works.” Provenance: The Right Honourable Algernon Capell, Earl of Essex, Viscount Maldon, and Baron Capell of Hadham, 1701′, bookplate on the verso of the typographic title. Burden (2007) 545; Koeman (1967B70) II p. 125-7 & ME 207-8/ The A. E. Nordenskiöld Collection (1979) no. 713/ Pastoureau (1984) Sanson IIF no. 1, IIG & VIIG, & p. 426/ Phillips (1909-) nos. 494B5, 511, 528, 584a, 5970B1/ Sabin (1868) nos. 26310, 38504, 42743, 76712, 76715, 76721B2, 100854/ Sanderson (1971) no. 272/ Shirley (2004) T.Chem 1a no. 18.