Copper engraving, 464 x 546 mm, original colour. First state of two, without cherubs in the cusps, to be followed in 1680 by a new plate with frame and with numerous geographical updates of the new discoveries in the Pacific and the interior of the American continent. In this first state appear California as an island according to Briggs' prototype (later to be replaced by the Sansonian model) and Anian with the strait on the northwest coast of the American continent. Nova Guinea does not yet appear in the Pacific in the western hemisphere. Beautiful example with minimal restorations to the central fold at the bottom.One of the most decorative 17th century Dutch globes. Shirley, R.W. The Mapping of the World p. 468: 'De Wit's globe is one of the most attractive of the period. The brilliant scenes in the corners combine the images of the four seasons, the elements and the signs of the zodiac in a balanced and naturalistic manner'. De Wit (c. 1629 -1706) was a cartographer and map dealer born in Gouda, who worked and died in Amsterdam. From the 1660s onwards, he is best known for atlases and plans of Dutch cities. After his death, most of the plates went to Pieter Mortier, whose firm became Covens & Mortier, one of the largest map houses of the 18th century. Bibliography: Shirley 451