Prior to the Blaeus seizing the market in the mid-17th century, the finest atlases had come from another mapmaker, Gerard Mercator. He had coined the word "atlas" to describe a collection of maps. It is unclear whether he chose the term to recognize the mythical Greek strongman who held up the world, or Libyan King Atlas, a mathematician and astronomer. A decade after Mercator's death, Jodocus Hondius purchased his plates at an auction of his son's effects, and began publishing atlases, updated with his own new maps. Item 11 is a 1630 Mercator atlas published by Henricus Hondius, Atlas sive cosmographicae... Hondius was still the most notable atlas publisher at this time, though the firm would soon be displaced by the Blaeus. £65,000 (US $114,120).

The other great mapmaker of Mercator's era was Abraham Ortelius. Ortelius was a competitor, but also a personal friend of Mercator. Item 12 is one of his Theatre de l'univers, contenant les cartes de tout le monde. This is the fourth French language edition, published in Antwerp in 1587. It includes 112 engraved double-page maps. £75,000 (US $131,677).

Item 15 is The English Atlas by Moses Pitt. This four-volume atlas was published from 1680-1683 in London. Pitt hoped to compete with the Blaeus, but despite this fine effort, Pitt ran out of money, eventually spending some time in debtor's prison. £35,000 (US $61,436).

Here is a circa 1730 world map, with contemporary hand coloring, by a man still a household name, though not for his maps. The mapmaker was Edmund Halley, better known as one of the world's leading astronomers, and more specifically for the comet that bears his name. Halley predicted that "Halley's Comet" would revisit the earth every 76 years. His was the first map to show isogonals, lines of equal magnetic pull which he believed would enable voyagers to compute longitude. However, fluctuations in magnetic strength made this use impossible. £8,000 (US $14,044).

Shapero notes that for those who find these prices a bit demanding, they have much more material available at less challenging prices. Bernard J. Shapero Rare Books may be found online at www.shapero.com, telephone +44 (0)20 7493 0876.