The chart of the Gulf
of Finland on the stamp and on the cover of the booklet was drawn
in 1676 by the Dutch publisher, Hendrick Doncker (1626-1699). For
about fifty years Hendrick Doncker ran a flourishing business in
Amsterdam as a bookseller and publisher of sea atlases and
textbooks on navigation. In a period when so many maps and charts
were simply copied from other publishers, Doncker's charts were
his own work and were noted for their accuracy and constant
improvement. Apart from this work, he cooperated for many years
with Pieter Goos and Anthonie Jacobsz in producing a pilot guide,
De Zeespiegel. Eventually his stock was sold to Johannes
van Keulen.