Pieter van der Aa (

Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...

, 1659 – Leiden, August 1733) was a Dutch

publisher Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

best known for preparing

map A map is a symbolic depiction of interrelationships, commonly spatial, between things within a space. A map may be annotated with text and graphics. Like any graphic, a map may be fixed to paper or other durable media, or may be displayed on ...

s and

atlas An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of world map, maps of Earth or of a continent or region of Earth. Advances in astronomy have also resulted in atlases of the celestial sphere or of other planets. Atlases have traditio ...

es, though he also printed

pirated Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, ...

editions of foreign bestsellers and illustrated volumes. He also printed many maps that were often out of print, which he reissued. Some of his most popular maps were of the

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

continent A continent is any of several large geographical regions. Continents are generally identified by convention (norm), convention rather than any strict criteria. A continent could be a single large landmass, a part of a very large landmass, as ...

, detailing locations such as

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

and

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

. Many of his later works were printed for the general public in

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

and

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

Early life and family

Pieter van der Aa was born the son of a German stonecutter from

Holstein Holstein (; ; ; ; ) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider (river), Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost States of Germany, state of Germany. Holstein once existed as the German County of Holstein (; 8 ...

, one of three sons who came to run a family printing business. His brother Boudewyn was a

printer Printer may refer to: Technology * Printer (publishing), a person * Printer (computing), a hardware device * Optical printer for motion picture films People * Nariman Printer (fl. c. 1940), Indian journalist and activist * James Printer (1640 ...

and his other brother Hildebrand a copper plate engraver.

Career

Pieter van der Aa began his career at Leiden in 1683 as a Latin trade publisher, publishing classical texts pertaining to medicine and science. As he progressed, he began to publish atlases and maps, compiling numerous multi-volume collections of works. His ambition to become Leiden's most famous printer was fulfilled in 1715 with his appointment to head printer for the city and its university. One of Pieter van der Aa's largest compilations relates to the history of

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

, an area of immense personal interest. Though he took credit for many of his compilations, several, such as the Dutch collection of travels to the East and West Indies, were admittedly simple improvements to others' works.

Legacy

The orchid genus '' Aa'' is said to be named after him by the botanist

Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach (Dresden, 3 January 1823 – Hamburg, 6 May 1889) was a botanist and the foremost Germany, German orchidologist of the 19th century. His father Ludwig Reichenbach, Heinrich Gottlieb Ludwig Reichenbach (author of ''Ico ...

because he was the printer for the Dutch botanist Paul Hermann's "Paradisus Batavus". Published posthumously in 1698, this explanation is disputed.

Published atlases

* '' Nouvel Atlas'' * and the sixty-six volume '' Galerie Agréable du Monde'' eiden, 1728 of which only 100 copies are said to have been printed. * Van der Aa, Pieter – F. Draakx schipvaart door de straat en Zuyd Zee gedaan om de gantsen aardkloot. – Leiden, Van der Aa 1706-08 6 x 23,2 cm* Van der Aa, Pieter – Zee-togten door Thomas Candys na de West Indien, en van daar rondom den gantzen aardkloot gedaan. * Van der Aa, Pieter – *T Noorder deel van Amerika. Door C.Kolumbus in zyn.. Leiden, Van der Aa 1706–08 6 x 23,6 cm* Van der AA, Pieter – Amerika of de Nieuwe Weereld Aller eerst Door C. Kolumbus; Leiden, 1705 * Van der Aa, Piter – Niew (

Niue Niue is a self-governing island country in free association with New Zealand. It is situated in the South Pacific Ocean and is part of Polynesia, and predominantly inhabited by Polynesians. One of the world's largest coral islands, Niue is c ...

) Engeland in twee Scheeptogten door..John Smith.. Leiden, 1705 * Vander Aa, Pieter – De voor Eylanden van America.. Florida, New Mexico,... Leiden, 1705 * Van der Aa, Pieter, T Vaste Land van Darien ten Zuiden Cuba en Hispaniola Gelege – Leiden, 1705 * Van der Aa, Pieter – Cuba en Jamaica, soo als die door Kolombus.. Leiden, 1705 * Van der Aa, Pieter – Reys togt door Thomas Coryat van Jerusalem; Leiden, 1705 * Van der Aa, Pieter – De zee en land-reysen vandenridder Hendrik Blunt.; Leiden, 1705 * Van der Aa, Pieter – Melite Insula vulgo Malta; Leiden, 1712 * Van der Aa, Pieter – Valetta Civitas Nova Maltae olim Millitae; Leiden, 1712 * The plates in the Leiden University Catalogus librorum of 1716 in

Quaerendo ''Quaerendo'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal devoted to manuscripts and printed books in Europe, with a focus on the Low Countries. It was established in 1971 and covers codicology, palaeography, and various aspects of the history of ...

, 22, 1992, p. 271–284, ill.

Gallery

File:Map-of-Turkey-and-Cyprus.jpg, Map of Turkey and Cyprus, 1719 File:Hermann Paradisus Batavus.jpg, Paradisus Batavus by Paul Hermann File:A lady and gentleman of Goa.jpg, A lady and gentleman of Goa File:Pieter van der Aa - The Coast of Arabia the Red Sea, and Persian Sea of Bassora Past the Straits of Hormuz.tif, ''The Coast of Arabia the Red Sea, and Persian Sea of Bassora Past the Straits of Hormuz to India, Gujarat and Cape Comorin'', 1707 File:Van der Aa De Stadt Alexandrie 1720 UTA.jpg, Map of Alexandria, 1720 File:Venice 1762 by Pieter van der Aa.jpg, Map of Venice, 1762 File:1720 Engraving of Brussels.png, Hand coloured engraving of

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

as viewed from outside the

city walls A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications such as curtain walls with to ...

, 1720. File:English Quakers Tobacco Planters and Slaves, Barbados, 17th cent. (colorized).jpg, English Quakers Tobacco Planters and Slaves, Barbados, 17th cent.

References

* *

External links

Various maps by van der Aa
Eran Laor Cartographic Collection. The

National Library of Israel The National Library of Israel (NLI; ; ), formerly Jewish National and University Library (JNUL; ), is the library dedicated to collecting the cultural treasures of Israel and of Judaism, Jewish Cultural heritage, heritage. The library holds more ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aa, Pieter van der 1659 births 1733 deaths 17th-century Dutch cartographers People from Leiden Dutch publishers (people) Dutch people of German descent