The Dutch Depict Russia’s Northern Rivals
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	Frederick de Wit (1630–1706) Novissima nec non Perfectissima Scandinaviae [The Most Recent, Although Incomplete, Information on Scandinavia] Amsterdam: Pierre Mortier, ca. 1710 NYPL, Slavic and Baltic Division, Bates-Pantuhoff Collection This map of Scandinavia and the Baltic countries is the work of Frederick de Wit, an important Amsterdam cartographer and publisher renowned for his delineations of the four continents; the maps first appeared in 1660. In this example – originally part of de Wit’s Atlas Maior – the former Swedish territory of Ingria, and the new city of St. Petersburg, are clearly shown at the eastern end of the Finnish Sea. Longitude – measuring east/west – is here measured from Ferro Island off the coast of Spain, considered by the second-century geographer Ptolemy to be the “beginning” of Europe. The title cartouche is surrounded by the coats of arms of Sweden and Denmark. A soldier and a blacksmith pair off, with the blacksmith apparently creating the weapons of war.