Abraham Ortelius, World & Continents, 1570-1575

Ortelius’ World and Continents from the First Modern Atlas

A fine set consisting of a world map and four of the continents from the first modern atlas Theatrum Orbis Terrarum by Abraham Ortelius. Each map is rendered in magnificent color. “As the first world map occurring in the first regular atlas, this map is of fundamental importance in the history of cartography.” (M. van den Broeke).

R. Shirley describes the Ortelius-Atlas in The Mapping of the World: “For the first time, in 1570, all the elements of the modern atlas were brought to publication in Abraham Ortelius’ Theatrum Orbis Terrarum. This substantial undertaking assembled fifty-three of the best available maps of the world by the most renowned and up-to-date geographers. Unlike earlier compositions such as the Italian composite or ‘Lafreri’ atlases, each of Ortelius’ maps was engraved specifically for his atlas according to uniform format. Through its launching, pre-eminence in map publishing was transferred from Italy to the Netherlands leading to over one hundred years of Dutch supremacy in all facets of cartographical production.”

World: Typus Orbis Terrarum (Antwerp: 1575)

Between the oval circumference of the map and the outer frame are billowing clouds and a quotation from Cicero framed in a mannerist style. Ortelius was a great compiler of newly discovered geographical facts and information. In this map, Christopher Columbus is given credit for the discovery of North America. In addition, Ortelius’s New World mapping reflects the Spanish entrada and the early explorations of Marcos de Niza and Francisco Vàsquez de Coronado. The geographer’s unique ability to access Spanish and Portuguese sources made his published maps of the New World the most influential maps of the late 16th and early 17th Centuries. After Mercator, Ortelius retains the unusual bulged South America coastline. From the 1575 Latin Edition, this is the third state showing bolt impressions in the lower left corner, to repair a crack in the copper plate

America: Americae sive Novi Orbis, Nova Descriptio (Antwerp: 1571)

Rare early state of Ortelius’s defining 16th-century map of America, from the rare early 1571 state of his Theatrum Orbis Terrarum. Americae … is without a doubt one of the most recognized and influential maps of the Americas, which had a profound influence on the development of contemporary cartography.  Its cartographic impact was of tremendous importance, with publication lasting for over half a century. North and South America stretch across this single hemisphere map. To the north, North America roughly resembles the continent we know today, except that the area near Alaska is undefined and the northwest bulges to the east. South America is a squat landmass; the bizarre extension in the southwest would disappear in later editions of the map.

Asia: Asiae Nova Descriptio (Antwerp: 1570-71)

A scarce first state example of Ortelius’ important map of Asia, with Latin text on the verso. It covers all Asia from the Mediterranean to the Pacific. With the Arabian Peninsula, India, Thailand, China, Japan, Korea as an island, Java, Borneo, Moluccas (Spice Islands), New Guinea and the Philippines. Decorated with a beautiful title cartouche and two sailing ships.

Africa: Africae Tabula Nova (Antwerp: 1570)

Exquisite map of Africa by Ortelius largely based on Gastaldi’s large wall map of 1561, which was highly influential for many cartographers up until the seventeenth century.  Portuguese colonists dominated European exploration of Africa in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, and notoriously kept their maps a secret. As a result, this attributed to the difficulty and delay of mapping Africa by other European cartographers. This map shows the continent of Africa, Madagascar and the continents’ smaller surrounding islands, the Arabian Peninsula and a portion of Brazil in South America shown in the lower left corner. The present example is described by Van Den Broecke as 1570LB4, issued in an edition of only 100 copies in 1570.

 Europe: Europae (Antwerp: 1570-71)

Beautiful hand color example of Ortelius’ 1570 map of Europe. Represents the first plate, first state, and the first map of Europe to appear in an atlas. To the north, the map includes Greenland, Iceland, and the island of Nova Zembia. Part of North America appears at the far west as part of the Labrador coastline. To the south is the Mediterranean Sea including North Africa. The map extends east into Asia to include Muscovy. The title cartouche illustrates Europa, the mother of King Minos of Crete, sitting on Zeus in the form of a bull.