Mercator's own account of the reasons for choosing King Atlas are given in the preface of the 1595 atlas. A translation by David Sullivan is available in a digital version of the atlas published by Octavo. The text is freely available at the New York Society LibraryArchived March 10, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, pdf page 104 (corresponding to p. 34 of Sullivan's text).
nytimes.com
Schwartz, John (2008-04-22). "The Body in Depth". The New York Times. Retrieved 2015-05-07.
Mercator's own account of the reasons for choosing King Atlas are given in the preface of the 1595 atlas. A translation by David Sullivan is available in a digital version of the atlas published by Octavo. The text is freely available at the New York Society LibraryArchived March 10, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, pdf page 104 (corresponding to p. 34 of Sullivan's text).