The first volume of the Spieghel contains instructions on various navigation techniques and the use of the manual, and maps of coasts from Texel to Cadiz, each accompanied by a coastal profile. Portuguese navigators had pioneered the use of coastal profiles in navigation, but Waghenaer was the first to include them for every chart on a consistent scale. The second volume, published a year later, contained charts of the coasts north of Texel. They were engraved by Johannes van Doetecum, one of the finest workers of the age. The charts were based on Waghenaer’s own extensive experience, supplemented by manuscript and printed sources. The accompanying text was based on other sixteenth century navigation manuals. It was a revolutionary success, and was translated into German, Latin and French, as well as an unauthorised English edition. His work was so popular in England that the Anglicized version of his name, “Waggoner”, became a generic term referring to sea atlases and charts. (Daniel Crouch)