Amsterdam Map Fair 2024

International maps and more

"Travel on paper without the expense and fatigues”, wrote Cervantes in Don Quijote in 1605.

The offered old maps take the fair visitor on a world journey spanning 450 years. In addition to old sea charts of the Dutch coast, there are also land and sea maps of distant regions and countries for sale. The oldest maps presented date from the end of the 15th century, and the most recent maps date from the beginning of the 20th century. There are also globes, atlases, city maps, and views on display.

Map production started at the end of the 15th century in Italy and then in Antwerp. Dutch mapmakers such as Willem and Joan Blaeu, Henricus Hondius, Johannes Janssonius, Frederick de Wit, Nicolas Visscher and many others determined how people saw the world in the 17th century. Maps have influenced the course of world history. Maps were used to settle a conflict, during a battle, to construct a road or canal, on an important shipping route and as a propaganda tool.