The Homann firm of Nuremberg
Johann Baptist Homann (1664–1724) trained in Nuremberg as an engraver and set up his own firm in 1702. In 1715 Emperor Charles VI named him Imperial Geographer, a title that came with a privilege protecting his maps from copying within the Empire. His large atlas, the Grosser Atlas über die ganze Welt, appeared in 1716.
Homann maps are easy to recognise. They have large decorative cartouches, often with figures and allegories, and the outlines of the territories are coloured by hand in strong colours. The firm produced maps of every part of Europe and of many other regions, and sold them across the continent.
After Homann
When Homann died the business passed to his son, and later to heirs who ran it for several decades as Homann Heirs, one of the best-known names in German map publishing. Like most publishers of the period, the firm drew heavily on Dutch and French originals and brought them up to date with new information.
The city's earlier tradition of globe- and instrument-making, of which Behaim's globe is the most famous product, provided a skilled workforce that the firm could draw on.