| Method | Copper engraved with early hand colour |
| Artist | Ortelius, Abraham |
| Published | Cum privilegio [Antwerp, 1588] |
| Dimensions | 355 x 505 mm |
| Notes |
A beautiful example of Ortelius' map of Italy, from the 1588 Spanish edition of the famous Theatrum Orbis Terrarum. The map is the first of two states showing 'modern' Italy, as opposed to the similar map of ancient Italy Ortelius included in his Parergon, and encompasses the entirety of the Italian peninsula, as well as Corsica, parts of Sardinia and Sicily, and adjoining sections of France, Istria and Dalmatia (modern Croatia), Albania, and Serbia. Principal towns and cities are picked out in red, and the rest of the map is beautifully ornamented in full hand colour. Rivers, mountains, and lakes are shown pictorially, and the waters of the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic Seas are populated by sailing ships and sea monsters, including a Triton and a Nereid embracing. The title is enclosed in a decorative strapwork cartouche at top right, a scale at bottom right is surmounted by a crouching Siren, and the cardinal points are emblazoned on banderoles. Abraham Ortelius (1527 -1598) was a Flemish cartographer, cosmographer, geographer and publisher and a contemporary of Gerard Mercator, with whom he travelled through Italy and France. Although it is Mercator who first used the word "Atlas" as a name for a collection of maps, it is Ortelius who is remembered as the creator of the first modern atlas. Theatrum Orbis Terrarum was the first systematically collated set of maps by different map makers in a uniform format. Three Latin editions as well as a Dutch, French and German edition of Theatrum Orbis Terrarum were published by 1572 and a further 25 editions printed before Ortelius' death in 1598. Several more were subsequently printed until around 1612. Ortelius is said to have been the first person to pose the question of the continents once being a single land mass before separating into their current positions. Condition: Central vertical fold as issued. Minor chipping to bottom left corner of sheet, not affecting map. Minor time toning to margins. Verdigris from early colour on verso. Spanish letterpress text on verso. |
| Framing | mounted |
| Price | £1,200.00 |
| Stock ID | 50993 |