Europe Bookmark

The British Isles in rose pink, France in gold, the North Sea labelled Noort Zee, and a galleon in full sail heading north — this is a detail from a map by Joan Blaeu, the greatest cartographer of the Dutch Golden Age.

Blaeu (1596–1673) inherited his father's Amsterdam workshop and turned it into the most celebrated map-making house in Europe. He was official cartographer to the Dutch East India Company, and his Atlas Maior of 1662 — eleven volumes, six hundred maps, hand-coloured and gilded — was the most expensive book money could buy in the seventeenth century. Maps then were as much decoration as navigation: made to be pored over, argued with, and hung on a wall.

At 48 × 162mm with a red ribbon marker, it lies flat in any book. A handsome small gift for a historian, a traveller, a lover of antique maps, or anyone whose reading runs to exploration and the sea.

Come and see the full Museums & Galleries range in the shop — there's always more on the shelves than we can fit online.

Key features

• Antique map detail by Joan Blaeu (1596–1673), the leading cartographer of the Dutch Golden Age
• Hand-coloured map of Western Europe with a sailing ship and period place names
• Red ribbon marker
• 48mm × 162mm
• Museums & Galleries, the British art-stationery publisher behind the V&A, Tate, Natural History Museum and British Museum ranges
• Flat enough to post inside a greetings card
• Perfect for historians, travellers, map collectors and book club gifts

FAQ

• Who was Joan Blaeu? A Dutch cartographer (1596–1673) who ran Europe's most famous map-making workshop in Amsterdam and served as official cartographer to the Dutch East India Company. His Atlas Maior of 1662 was the most lavish and expensive book of its age.
• What does the map show? Western Europe, including the British Isles, France and Spain, with a sailing ship in the North Sea and place names in the Latin and Dutch of the period.
• What colour is the ribbon? Red.
• What size is the bookmark? 48mm wide by 162mm tall.
• Is it suitable as a gift? Yes — a handsome small gift on its own, and light enough to post inside a card.