Hermann Moll

Herman Moll (c.1654–1732) was a German-born cartographer and engraver who built his career in London during the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Likely arriving in England around 1678, he began as an engraver for other publishers before establishing himself as an independent mapmaker. Over the following decades he issued a wide range of maps, atlases, and globes, drawing on contemporary exploration and political events. His works include A System of Geography (1701), the Atlas Geographus (1708–1717), and his most famous The World Described (1715–1732), a folio atlas that featured large and decorative maps.

Moll’s maps were known for their bold style, clear detail, and incorporation of contemporary knowledge of trade, exploration, and empire. He emphasized British maritime power and colonial ambitions, often filling his maps with informative notes, insets, and elaborate cartouches. His relationships with figures such as Daniel Defoe and Jonathan Swift, who used his maps in Robinson Crusoe and Gulliver’s Travels, further spread his reputation. Moll continued publishing until his death in London in 1732, leaving behind some of the most recognizable and influential maps of early eighteenth-century Britain.