Delineatio Freti Vaigats (1618) Very beautiful map by Petrus Bertius of the south part of Vaygach Island in the Arctic Sea, the Yugorsky Strait and partly Russia. History: Novaya Zemlya also known as Nova Zembla is an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean in northern Russia and the extreme northeast of Europe, the easternmost point of Europe lying at Cape Flissingsky on the Northern island. West of Novaya Zemlya is the Barents Sea, and to the east is the Kara Sea. The Russians knew of Novaya Zemlya from the 11th century, when hunters from Novgorod visited the area. For Western Europeans, the search for the Northern Sea Route in the 16th century led to its exploration. The first visit from a Western European was by Hugh Willoughby in 1553. Dutch explorer Willem Barentsz reached the west coast of Novaya Zemlya in 1594, and in a subsequent expedition of 1596, he rounded the northern cape and wintered on the northeastern coast. Barentsz died during the expedition, and may have been buried on Severny Island. The map shows many names the Dutch gave to this area. It is decorated with a wind rose, a sail ship and a whale. Original hand coloring (this was only done to a very limited number of these atlases). Published by Hondius in Amsterdam in 1618 in a French edition of ´Géographie raccourcie par Pierre BERTIUS´. Very good condition. Original hand coloring (very rare, only a few copies were sold with hand coloring). Never folded. Reverse side text in French Image 9,5x13,5cm, page 12,5x19cm