Nicolaes Visscher II
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Nicolaes Visscher II (1649, Amsterdam – 1702, Amsterdam) was a Dutch engraver, cartographer and publisher. He was the son of Nicolaes Visscher I and the grandson of Claes Janszoon Visscher.[1] After his death, his wife, Elisabeth, continued the family tradition of mapmaking and publishing.[1][2] The works, engraved plates, were then sold to Peter Schenk, who also reprinted them.[3][4]
Nicolaes Visscher II was born into a family of mapmakers and publishers, including father Nicolaes Visscher I and grandfatherClaes Janszoon Visscher.[1]
Visscher took over the Amsterdam firm after his father’s death in 1679. [5] He continued the business as both a cartographer and publisher, issuing maps and atlases from inherited plates as well as new material produced in the workshop.[5]
Under his direction, the firm produced composite atlases whose contents could vary between copies.[5] These were revised and reissued over time and included a combination of the family’s own engravings and maps obtained from other sources.[5]
In 1682, at about thirty years of age, Visscher obtained a publishing privilege from the States of Holland and West Friesland, granting him exclusive rights to print and sell certain maps and atlases and preventing unauthorized copying.[5]
Visscher produced regional and continental maps as well as maps for inclusion in atlases, maintaining the firm’s presence in the Amsterdam map trade of the late 17th century.[5]
