Henricus HONDIUS II

1597 - 1651

Henricus Hondius II (also known as Hendrik Hondius the Younger, and not related to Henricus Hondius I and Henricus Hondius III) was born in Amsterdam in 1597 and died there on August 16, 1651. He was born into a highly influential Dutch dynasty of cartographers, engravers, and publishers. His father was the prominent mapmaker Jodocus Hondius I (“the Elder”), who established the family’s printing business, and his older brother was Jodocus Hondius II (“the Younger”), who also worked within the trade. Following his father’s death in 1612, Henricus received his training and education within the family workshop under the direction of his mother, Colette van den Keere, and his brother, firmly embedding him in the competitive commercial print trade of the early 17^th-century Netherlands.

Hondius played a critical role in sustaining and expanding the commercial dominance of the Hondius firm against rising rivals like Willem Blaeu. His primary cartographic achievement stems from his management and expansion of the landmark Mercator-Hondius Atlas, the printing plates of which his father had originally acquired from the estate of Gerard Mercator. Working in close collaboration with his brother-in-law, Jan Jansson, Henricus extensively revised, updated, and expanded this foundational atlas to ensure its continued scientific relevancy and commercial viability. His efforts culminated in key historical publications, most notably the Atlas Novus (first published in 1638), which featured significant geographical revisions, refined copperplate engraving, and high artistic standard.

Henricus Hondius II is remembered as a central figure of Golden Age Dutch cartography who successfully modernised the structural framework of the Mercator atlas tradition for a new generation of European geographers.