Part of a Set of Ortelius' World and Four Continents in Exceedingly Fine Condition:   Europae

Original copperplate printed map
Fine handcolor
344 x 464 mm
Map # W-109(4)
$  Sold (as part of a matching set of 5 maps)

Click here for larger image

Geographically, Ortelius approached the preparation of this map, like all of his maps, in a thoroughly scientific manner.  Again Ortelius used Mercator as an important source for his cartographic information, this time Mercator's 1554 map of Europe, Mercator's twenty-one sheet world map to portray Greenland, and his 1564 map of Great Britain.  Magnus' 1539 map of Scandinavia among other maps were also used (van den Broecke, p. 45).

This map is part of a matching set of the world and the four continent maps for Ortelius' Theatrum Orbis Terrarum.   The Theatrum Orbis Terrarum was the first atlas that produced a uniform series of maps of the world.  The publication of the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum  can be considered the starting point for over 100 years of Dutch supremacy in the production of beautiful maps and atlases.  

To read about and view the other maps in the set,  click the hyperlink on each of the following names  -   The World,  The Americas,  Asia,  Africa.

The set is from a later edition of the Theatrum with a possible date of 1592, 1595, 1601, 1603, or, less likely, 1609, or 1612, based on van den Broecke.  Text on verso is in Latin with a page no. "2" (van den Broecke, p. 45).

There were two different copperplates of this map:  one from 1570 and a second plate from 1584.  This map is from the second plate of 1584 (the most noticeable difference being lettering in north Africa of "Africae Pars" in cursive lettering rather than in block lettering). 

(van den Broecke, map # 5).

Very Fine Condition.  It will be extremely difficult to find a set of Ortelius world and continent maps in as fine a condition.   Wide margins.  Clean, bright map image.   All five maps of the set have similar minor professional patches in corner bottom margins.