Dell'Arcano del Mare by Sir Robert Dudley is a 17th-century maritime encyclopaedia, the sixth part of which comprises a maritime atlas of the entire world, which is the first such in print, the first made by an Englishman, and the first to use the Mercator projection. The work was first published in Italian at Florence in 1645 and 1646 in three folio volumes. Among other things, it is remarkable for its inclusion of a proposal for the construction of a navy in five rates (sizes) which Dudley designed and described. It was reprinted in Florence in a two volume folio edition in 1661 without the charts of the first edition. Scope The six-part work covered navigation, shipbuilding and astronomy, with 130 maps in two volumes (nos. 2 and 6) . Unlike the vast majority of his contemporaries, Dudley's maps are all his own and were not copied from other mapmakers. They have an instantly recognisable style, closer to the pre-17th-century manuscript portolan charts than the richly decorated maps of Mercator, Hondius and Blaeu. Style The distinctive Baroque style of Dudley's charts is in part attributable to the elegant engraving of Antonio Francesco Lucini. His map making is an early use of Mercator projection. Individual maps Carta Particolare Che Mostra Il Capo Buona Speranza "Carta Particolare Che Mostra Il Capo Buona Speranza" is a very large sea chart of southwest Africa from Cape Fria to Cape of Good Hope, including Tristan da Cunha. Carta Quarta Generale di Europa "Carta Quarta Generale di Europa", 1646 is one of the larger scale, generalised (Carta Generale) maps and shows the West coast of France, southward from La Rochelle, and the Northern coast of Spain. This is the least ornate of the styles adopted by Dudley with no adornment other than the cartouche and a compass rose and fairly plain calligraphy. Smaller scale maps Four additional maps represent the majority of the smaller scale, more specific (Carta Particolare) maps and include sailing ships, notes on prevailing winds and currents and more stylised calligraphy. Carta Particolare della Costa Australe scoperta dalla Ollandesia "Carta Particolare della Costa Australe scoperta dalla Ollandesia", 1646. According to Tooley, this map is the first separately printed map of Australia and is consequently of great value. It shows, in addition to the west side of the Cape York peninsula, much of the island of New Guinea. By labelling the Torres Strait "Golfo