An early 18th century map of Catholic Europe

A map of Europe with the cities marked to show whether they were Catholic, non-Catholic or mixed. The large cartouche features the cruxifixion with modern figures at the base of the cross. From the seven-volume 'Atlas Novus', a guide to geography by mathematician and geographer Heinrich Scherer (1628-1704). A Jesuit priest, Scherer writings conformed to Catholic dogma, omitting theories that were challenging, including those of Copernicus and Kepler. Thus the 'Atlas Novus' is one of the first printed compilations of thematic maps.