Blaeu, Willem Janszoon

Blaeu, Willem Janszoon vĭˈləm yänˈsōn blou [key], 1571–1638, Dutch cartographer and printer. He studied astronomy and instrument making under the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe. The printing establishment he founded in Amsterdam was famed for its fine instruments, marine publications, globes and atlases, and especially for the folio atlas that he compiled. Blaeu designed new presses incorporating important innovations; his shop was recognized as one of the best in that period. The sons and grandsons of Blaeu continued his work.

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