Richly engraved decorative map of South America, in Scherer's distinctive style.

The map is filled with towns and pictorial representations of the mountainous topography. Near Guyana, the fictitious lake of Parime is named with the mythical city of Dorado shown upon its shores. The scale of miles is topped with the symbol for the Society of Jesus.

Heinrich Scherer, professor of mathematics at Munich, was a devout Jesuit. Many of the maps and plates in his atlas emphasize the Catholic hierarchy and the spread of Jesuit missions throughout the world. Scherer's Atlas Novus was a 7 volume compendium which demonstrated his unique style and devout Jesuit religious values. The atlas was engraved by a young Johann Baptiste Homann and others, demonstrating a unique quality which makes this the first "thematic atlas".

Includes large vignette and cartouche, and several sailing ships.