Matthaus Merian (1693-1650) “the Elder” was a notable Swiss engraver born in Basel. He worked and studied in Germany and France before moving to Frankfurt where he inherited his father-in-law’s publishing house in 1623. There he produced numerous very detailed and stylized town plans of German and Swiss towns. Together with his son Matthaus Merian (1621-1687) “the Younger”, he produced a 21 volume Topographia Germaniae containing a large number of town plans and views, maps of most known countries and a World Map. He also completed the later parts and editions of Grand Voyages and Petits Voyages begun by is father-in-law Johann Theodor de Bry in 1590.
