ABRAHAM ORTELIUS (1527-1598)
Code: AO1 "Thietmarsiae, Holsaticae Regionis Partis Typus"
with Latin Description verso about Thietmarsia in Germany and Prussia. Shows the Elbe River in the lower left with Brunsbuttel. In the upper left is the mouth of the Eider River. On the right side is Heide.Original copper plate engraving by Petro Boeckel for Abraham Orelius (1527-1598)
and his Latin Edition of “Theatrum Orbis Terrarum” (Theatre of the World), considered the first modern atlas.
Includes sea monsters, ornate cartouche, etc. Nice dark impression and wide margins. From the 1584 Latin edition published by Christopher Plantin in Antwerp.
Abraham Ortelius's "Theatrum Orbis Terrarum" (Theatre of the World) is considered the first true atlas in the modern sense: a collection of uniform map sheets
and sustaining text bound to form a book for which copper printing plates were specifically engraved. The Ortelius atlas is sometimes referred to as
the summary of sixteenth-century cartography. Many of his atlas's maps were based upon sources that no longer exist or are extremely rare. Ortelius
appended a unique source list (the “Catalogus Auctorum”) identifying the names of contemporary cartographers, some of whom would otherwise have remained
obscure. More than an original concept, the “Theatrum” was also the most authoritative and successful such work during the late sixteenth and early
seventeenth centuries. Because it was frequently revised to reflect new geographical and historical insights, contemporary scholars in western Europe
praised the “Theatrum” highly for its accuracy, even as they embraced the atlas's concept. The “Theatrum” atlas first appeared in 1570 and continued to
be published until 1612.
Abraham Ortelius, maker of the “Theatrum Orbis Terrarum”, is regarded as one of the most prominent geographers of the sixteenth century.
Before the publication of the “Theatrum”, Ortelius was a respected student of classical history and a collector of books and old coins but
had found only modest acclaim for his cartographic skills. Yet, he had made a living as a professional illuminator after 1554, illustrating
hundreds of maps, and making at least six single- and multi-sheet maps of his own between 1564 and 1570. Still, it was the “Theatrum” that firmly
established his reputation as a cartographer and made him a wealthy man.
Conservation Frame Presentation with traditional Fruitwood veneer decorative marquetry (inlaid)
Size of copper-plate image = 19.5cm x 30cm
Size of Conservation frame presentation (using Ultra Violet blocking glass and Cotton matboards) = 56cm x 45cm
Price= AUD $685
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