Biography

William Hondius’s father, Henrik Hondius, was one of the most important Dutch printmakers and publishers of his time. William continued the tradition and became extremely successful in his own right. In the 1630s he began publishing his own prints alongside his fathers. In 1636 he left The Hague and moved to Danzig (Gdańsk), in the then Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. He went on to become the royal engraver of King Wladyslaw IV Waza, king of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.