Johannes Janssonius was born in the year of 1588 in Arnhem. After his marriage in 1612 with the daughter of the publisher and cartographer Jodocus Hondius, Janssonius started a business as a book publisher in Amsterdam. He published his first maps of Italy and France in the year of 1616. His immense quantity and great quality of map production made him one of the popular medieval map makers.
From 1630 to 1638 Johannes Janssonius started working in partnership with Henricus Hondius, who was his brother-in-law. During this time he had published additional editions of the Mercator/Hondius atlases, which had his name. After the death of Henricus Hondius, Janssonius took over the business. In due course of time he published an 11-volume Atlas Major having the same scale, which was used for the Atlas Major of Blaeu.
The first full issue of the English County Maps by Jansson was issued in the year of 1646. However a number of British maps were also published in the Mercator/Hondius/Jansson series of atlases from 1636 to 1644. The maps were printed by using newly carved plates and are different from the ones of 1646. The maps made by Johannes Janssonius were decorative, colorful and more extravagant from those of Blaeu, whose work had a great influece on Johannes.
After the death of Johannes Janssonius in 1664, a number of maps were published by his heirs, and Pieter Schenk and Gerard Valck acquired the plates used by Johannes.
