Daniel Defoe, Atlas Maritimus & Commercialis

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Atlas Maritimus & Commercialis

is a large, ambitious, and comprehensive survey of the coasts, ports and harbours of the world, published in June 1728. It took the form of a subscription volume running to more than 600 folio pages in two columns. The central aim of the volume was to promote a new globular projection for maps as an aid to navigation, for which a small group of entrepreneurial figures had obtained a royal warrant in 1721. The work has an enhanced interest since it carries a prefatory section “To the Reader”, which offers a recommendation for the charts provided since they employ a projection “which in this

Atlas

is very different from any that has hitherto appeared” (i). The author of this preface was none other than Edmond Halley (1656–1742), best known today as…

2121 words

Citation: Rogers, Pat. "Atlas Maritimus & Commercialis". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 23 July 2020 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=39329, accessed 13 December 2024.]

39329 Atlas Maritimus & Commercialis 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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