The jewel of the Liberna Collection is the 12-volume atlas by Joan Blaeu (1596–1673) in its French edition of 1667. First published in 1662 in Latin, the atlas is probably the most prestigious, expensive and – in terms of scope – ambitious publication of the 17th century. The 12 volumes of our hand-coloured and partly gilded 1667 atlas contain “only” the first part of Blaeu’s large-scale project: a description of the earth. The planned parts II (maps of the oceans) and III (maps of the heavens) never appeared. Probably the most famous map is Blaeu’s world map. Above the two hemispheres, the planets are represented by Jupiter (father of the gods), Venus (goddess of love), Sol (sun god), Mercury (god of trade), Mars (god of war) and Saturn (god of agriculture). They are accompanied by the astronomers Nicolaus Copernicus and Claudius Ptolemy. Allegorical representations of the four seasons appear along the lower edge.