"This is one of the finest collections of 17th century cartographical prints and drawings in existence. Joan Blaeu's original 'Atlas Maior' (Great Atlas) from the 1660s was substantially expanded into something of a personal world geo-encyclopaedia in the following decade by the Amsterdam lawyer, Laurens van der Hem, while continuing a visual style established by Blaeu. The gargantuan ~50 volume series -- housed today in the Austrian National Library in Vienna -- includes more than 2400 maps, charts, sketches and birds-eye-views of towns, buildings and harbours, seascapes and landscapes, with the occasional portrait of significant historical figures."