[Set of 4 continents] America Noviter Delineata, Asia Recens Summa Cura Delineata, Africa Nova Tabula and Nova Europae Descriptio

A magnificent and rare set of the 4 continents by Pierre D'Avity.
The maps are from the French work "Les Etats, Empires, Royaumes du Monde". The engraver is unknown though the maps are closely copied from Picart's version of 1644, which was in turn derived from Janssonius' map of 1623. America Noviter Delineata": North America retains the peninsular California and there is not a lot of detail along the eastern coast in the mid-Atlantic region. In the Southwest the famous seven cities of Cibola appear on the banks of a large spurious lake.
In South America, the mythical 'Parime Lacus' is shown to the south of Guiana and there are two engraved scenes, one detailing a cannibalistic feast and the other showing a mythical giant of Patagonia.
Two stylized insets of the polar regions are enclosed in strap-work cartouches; the North Pole depicts Frobisher's theory of the Northwest Passage and the South Pole shows the long-held notion of the mythical southern continent.
The map is flanked on three sides with carte-a-figures borders describing the native Americans and its major cities. This map has been identified by Burden as a new plate imitating the Picart but with typographic differences, for example 'Cartage' rather than 'Cartagena' on the town plan.
Unlike the similar Blaeu map, the cities at top include three North American towns: the Virginian Indian village of Pomeiooc, the French fort of Carolina, and S. Augustin in Florida, in addition to Cartage, Havana and St. Dominco.

Asia Recens Summa Cura Delineata": Wonderful map of Asia, stretching from the Caspian Sea in the West to Japan, Philippines and East Indies in the East. The panelled sides include 10 peoples of the region in their various national costumes. The cities across the top include Hormus, Aden, Jerusalem, Damascus, Famagusta and Rhodes. China is shown with many cities and provinces named and several mythical lakes. The Great Wall is prominently displayed. Korea is shown as a peninsular. Several ships and sea monsters are seen. Note the blank cartouche.

"Africa Nova Tabula": Fabulous map of Africa with many native animals displayed. Several ships and sea monsters scattered throughout the ocean. The panelled sides include 10 peoples of the region in their various national costumes.The cities across the top include Alcair, Alexandria, Algiers, Tunis, Tangiers and Ceuta. Note the blank cartouche with skull and clock.

"Nova Europae Descriptio": The map includes a massive Greenland, detailed Iceland and the mythical island of Frislandt, complete with named towns and bays. Brown bears are shown playing in northern Russia. The paneled sides include 10 peoples of the region in their various national costumes. Note the blank cartouche.
The views include Lisbon, Toledo, London, Paris, Rome and Venice. A number of sailing ships and sea monsters are also shown.

Reference: Burden 333 p. 432.