Legionis, Biscaiae et Guipiscoae Typus

Map showing the Basque Country, La Rioja, Cantabria, León, and part of Asturias. The map belongs to the work entitled Atlas, or Cosmographical Meditations on the Fabric of the World and the Figure of the Fabric (Atlas Sive Cosmographicae Meditationes de Fabrica mundi et fabricati figura) by Gerard Mercator, the plates of which Jodocus Hondius bought in 1604, and to which he added some countries that Mercator had not drawn.

The frame is marked in degrees and subdivisions of six in the meridians and four in the parallels. The cardinal points are shown in the margins. The prime meridian shown is that of El Hierro Island in the Canaries. The title of the map is written in a cartouche and a cornucopia in the lower right-hand corner. Bottom center, a further cartouche with a cornucopia topped by an owl, the symbol of wisdom, gives the graphic scale in both Spanish leagues and German miles. Topography is indicated with little mountain shapes, and some of the mountain ranges are named. Planimetry is indicated through groupings of buildings. Hydrography is the main network and the most important rivers are named. Horizontal lines accentuate the coastline. The sea is drawn with a zig-zag pattern. Embellished with a galley ship and a galleon. Place names are given in Castilian Spanish and Latin. Italic Roman lettering is used, with extravagant curlicues. The washes used are sepia, green, and gold. Across the back, Latin text describes the different regions shown on the map. Dated during the reign of Philip III of Spain(1598–1621).