![]() While the name “America” had been floating around on maps since 1507, putting it on equal footing (so to speak) with Europe, Asia, and Africa was new. War-like, mysterious America, lounges at the bottom, holding a severed head, to show both barbarity and cannibalism. The two figures at the bottom would have been unfamiliar to Ortelius’s readers. They are, of course, the personifications of the continents.Įarly modern readers of Ortelius would have been immediately familiar with three of them: Europe, of course, sitting at a place of prominence at the top, with her crown and scepter and orb, showing the perceived European mastery of the world Asia, draped in rich silks and holding incense (note in the 1606 edition how the colorist has made Asia’s stomach area yellow…) and wild, dark-skinned Africa, crowned by the fiery sun. Readers are immediately confronted with four (well, really four and a half-we’ll get to the poor half in a minute) women in varying states of dress. These hand-colored atlases are perpetual favorites when we do rare book show’n’tell sessions, and the intrigue starts right from the title page. ![]() Price: Euro 5.500,- (incl.Left, the title page from the 1595 Antwerp edition right, the title page from the 1606 London edition. Literature: “Ortelius atlas maps”, Marcel van den Broecke, Ort3 “The Mapping of the World”, Rodney Shirley, no. Altogether with the embellishments, rich colour and important information, one of the great world maps of all time. The border of this map is altered as well, now with a more intricate and elegant lattice of strapwork and swag. The updated map is also distinctive and especially beautiful for the four medallions in the corners with classical texts, two from Cicero and two from Seneca. South America now assumes a more accurate shape, and the Solomon Isles are marked for the first time. In the south, a large "Terra Australis Nondum Cognita" is drawn, separated from South America by the "Estrecho di Magallanes." “From surviving correspondence it is known that Mercator generously encouraged Ortelius to make use of his published corpus of research he also provided him with coordinates of places in America and perhaps elsewhere.” – Shirley In 1587 Ortelius updated this seminal map for the third and last time. In the north, islands are shown surrounding the North Pole, and separated from America and Asia by a sea passage, the latter being a popular belief in the sixteenth century. Although the map appears rather erroneous to modern eyes, it actually contains some of the best compilation work of the period, which was a hallmark of mapmaking in the sixteenth century. Ortelius' atlas project had the blessing and aid of Mercator, who supplied Ortelius with coordinates of places in America. ![]() For these and other reasons, Abraham Ortelius is called the "father of modern cartography." This particular map is based upon Gerard Mercator's large world map of 1569. The publication of the Theatrum also marked the inauguration of the era of Dutch supremacy in cartography. Initially published in 1570, this volume was the first that could truly be called an ‘atlas’ in the modern sense of a compilation of maps engraved to a uniform format according to the most up-to-date information available. One of the most famous of world maps, from Ortelius' great work, Theatrum Orbis Terrarum. Published by Arbraham Ortelius of Antwerp from 1587 onwards. ONE OF THE GREAT WORLD MAPS OF ALL TIME "Typus Orbis Terrarum." Copper engraving from Theatrum Orbis Terrarum. ![]()
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