Bayern, by A. Ortelius. 1612
Abraham Ortelius (1527-1598)
The maker of the 'first atlas', the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (1570), was born on 4 April 1527 into an old Antwerp family. He learned Latin and studied Greek and mathematics.
Abraham and his sisters Anne and Elizabeth took up map colouring. He was admitted to the Guild of St. Luke as an "illuminator of maps." Besides colouring maps, Ortelius was a dealer in antiques, coins, maps, and books, with the book and map trade gradually becoming his primary occupation.
Business went well because his means permitted him to start an extensive collection of medals, coins, antiques, and a library of many volumes. In addition, he travelled a lot and visited Italy and France, made contacts everywhere with scholars and editors, and maintained extensive correspondence with them.
In 1564 he published his first map, a large and ambitious world wall map. The inspiration for this map may well have been Gastaldi's large world map. In 1565 he published a map of Egypt and a map of the Holy Land, a large map of Asia followed.
In 1568 the production of individual maps for his atlas Theatrum Orbis Terrarum was already in full swing. He completed the atlas in 1569, and in May of 1570, the Theatrum was available for sale. It was one of the most expensive books ever published.
This first edition contained seventy maps on fifty-three sheets. Franciscus Hogenberg engraved the maps.
Later editions included Additamenta (additions), resulting in Ortelius' historical atlas, the Parergon, mostly bound together with the atlas. The Parergon can be called a truly original work of Ortelius, who drew the maps based on his research.
The importance of the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum for geographical knowledge in the last quarter of the sixteenth century is difficult to overemphasize. Nothing was like it until Mercator's atlas appeared twenty-five years later. Demand for the Theatrum was remarkable. Some 24 editions appeared during Ortelius's lifetime and another ten after his death in 1598. Editions were published in Dutch, German, French, Spanish, English, and Italian. The number of map sheets grew from 53 in 1570 to 167 in 1612 in the last edition.
In 1577, engraver Philip Galle and poet-translator Pieter Heyns published the first pocket-sized edition of the Theatrum, the Epitome. The work was trendy. Over thirty editions of this Epitome were published in different languages.
Bavariae olim Vindeliciae, delineationis compendium
Item Number: 23005 Authenticity Guarantee
Category: Antique maps > Europe > Germany
Old, antique map of Bayern by A. Ortelius.
Title: Bavariae olim Vindeliciae, delineationis compendium.
Date of the first edition: 1573.
Date of this map: 1612.
Copper engraving, printed on paper.
Size (not including margins): 384 x 487mm (15.12 x 19.17 inches).
Verso: Spanish text.
Condition: Uncoloured, excellent.
Condition Rating: A+.
From: Ortelius A. Theatro d'el Orbe de la Tierra. Antwerp. Plantin Press, 1612. (Van der Krogt 3, 1:453)
Abraham Ortelius (1527-1598)
The maker of the 'first atlas', the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (1570), was born on 4 April 1527 into an old Antwerp family. He learned Latin and studied Greek and mathematics.
Abraham and his sisters Anne and Elizabeth took up map colouring. He was admitted to the Guild of St. Luke as an "illuminator of maps." Besides colouring maps, Ortelius was a dealer in antiques, coins, maps, and books, with the book and map trade gradually becoming his primary occupation.
Business went well because his means permitted him to start an extensive collection of medals, coins, antiques, and a library of many volumes. In addition, he travelled a lot and visited Italy and France, made contacts everywhere with scholars and editors, and maintained extensive correspondence with them.
In 1564 he published his first map, a large and ambitious world wall map. The inspiration for this map may well have been Gastaldi's large world map. In 1565 he published a map of Egypt and a map of the Holy Land, a large map of Asia followed.
In 1568 the production of individual maps for his atlas Theatrum Orbis Terrarum was already in full swing. He completed the atlas in 1569, and in May of 1570, the Theatrum was available for sale. It was one of the most expensive books ever published.
This first edition contained seventy maps on fifty-three sheets. Franciscus Hogenberg engraved the maps.
Later editions included Additamenta (additions), resulting in Ortelius' historical atlas, the Parergon, mostly bound together with the atlas. The Parergon can be called a truly original work of Ortelius, who drew the maps based on his research.
The importance of the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum for geographical knowledge in the last quarter of the sixteenth century is difficult to overemphasize. Nothing was like it until Mercator's atlas appeared twenty-five years later. Demand for the Theatrum was remarkable. Some 24 editions appeared during Ortelius's lifetime and another ten after his death in 1598. Editions were published in Dutch, German, French, Spanish, English, and Italian. The number of map sheets grew from 53 in 1570 to 167 in 1612 in the last edition.
In 1577, engraver Philip Galle and poet-translator Pieter Heyns published the first pocket-sized edition of the Theatrum, the Epitome. The work was trendy. Over thirty editions of this Epitome were published in different languages.
Related items
Circulus Bavaricus in quo sunt ... c. 1715
Bayern by de Wit - Covens & Mortier.
[Item number: 1266]
Scarce
Bavariae Utriusque cum Inferioris tu Superioris Vera et ad Amus Sim Descriptio 1593
Bayern, by de Jode.
[Item number: 5101]
Palatinatus Bavariae. 1659-72
The Oberpfalz, by Willem Blaeu.
[Item number: 9806]
Bavariae Pars Inferior cum insertis et adjacentibus Regionibus ... 1683-1696
Bavaria (Bayern), by N. Visscher.
[Item number: 14590]
Basiliensis Territorii Descritorii Nova. - Circulus sive Liga Sveviae 1612
Basel and Schwaben by Abraham Ortelius.
[Item number: 22964]
Austriae Descrip. per Wolfgangum Lazium 1612
Austria, by A. Ortelius.
[Item number: 22967]
Bavariae olim Vindeliciae, delineationis compendium. 1612
Bayern by Abraham Ortelius.
[Item number: 22993]
Basiliensis Territorii Descritorii Nova. - Circulus sive Liga Sveviae 1612
Basel and Schwaben, by A. Ortelius.
[Item number: 23007]
Le Cercle de Baviere subdivisé en tous les Estats qui le composent ... 1721-41
Bavaria (Bayern), by Covens & Mortier.
[Item number: 23814]
Le Cercle de Franconie subdivisé en tous les Estats qui le composent. c. 1695
Bavaria (Bayern) by Hubert Jaillot - Covens & Mortier.
[Item number: 23819]
Partie Orientale du Cercle de Franconie. 1721-41
Bavaria (Bayern), by Covens & Mortier.
[Item number: 23820]
Circulus Bavaricus in quo sunt Ducatus Electoratus, & Palatinat Bavariae, Archiepisc. Salisburgi, Episcopatus Ratisbonae, Pataviae, & Fruxini, Palatinat Neoburgi & Landgravius Leuchtenbergi. c. 1680
Bayern, by F. De Wit.
[Item number: 24403]
Bavaria Ducatus 1623
Bayern, by G. Mercator.
[Item number: 24950]
Bavaria Ducatus. 1644
The Duchy of Bayern by Willem Blaeu.
[Item number: 28588]
Bavaria Ducatus. c. 1640
Bayern by Cornelis Danckerts.
[Item number: 29014]
Sueviae et Bavariae Descriptio. 1550
Southern Germany (Schwaben & Bayern), by Sebastian Münster.
[Item number: 29302]
Bavariae superioris et Inferioris nova descriptio. 1653
Bayern by Johannes Janssonius.
[Item number: 30392]
new
Territorii Novoforensis in Superiore Palatinatu accurata descriptio. 1653
Neuburg by Johannes Janssonius.
[Item number: 30393]
new