Tabularum Geographicarum Contractarum

Petrus Bertius’s Tabularum Geographicarum Contractarum, published in Amsterdam in 1603 by Cornelius Nicolai, is the expanded Latin edition of Barent Langenes’s Caert-Thresoor (first printed in Middelburg in 1598). Edited and enriched by Petrus Bertius, a noted theologian and geographer, this second edition contained 160 finely engraved miniature maps. While most of the engravings were done by anonymous Dutch craftsmen, some were thought to be the work of Petrus Kaerius (Latinised name of Pieter van den Keere), a leading engraver of the period known for his precision and stylistic clarity. The atlas presents a detailed and compact overview of the known world—including many maps of the regions of Europe, as well as Asia, Africa, and the Americas—and reflects the humanist and scientific spirit of the early 17th century. It remains a landmark in the history of miniature cartography and early atlas publishing.