Antique map of Florida - Peru - Mexico by Ortelius A. 1612.

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Item Number:  12870 Authenticity Guarantee

Category:  Antique maps > America > North America

Three maps on one sheet, copper engraving

Copper engraving
Size: 34 x 47cm (13.3 x 18.3 inches)
Verso text: Italian
Condition: 3 maps on one sheet, old coloured.
Condition Rating: A
References: Van der Krogt 3, 9820+9440+9540:31; van den Broecke, 15; Burden, 57.

From: Theatro del Mondo di Abrahamo Ortelio. Antwerpen, Plantin Press (J.&B. Moretus), 1612. (Van der Krogt 3, 1:652)

"The Florida map is one of the very few maps printed in the sixteenth century that was based upon original Spanish sources. They were very protective of their knowledge of the Americas, a considerable source of their wealth. The author of this map, Géronimo de Chaves, was the Cosmographer Royal to Philip II of Spain. His father, Alonso de Chaves, was an examiner of Pilots at the Casa de Contratacion and in 1552 his son followed him by being appointed to the Chair of Cartography.
The plate contains two other maps of similar Spanish regions of influence. They are PERUVVIAE and , the latter combines with LA FLORIDA to extend the coastline of the Gulf of Mexico further south. The map LA FLORIDA is one of the handful of prototypes produced, its influence was considerable. Showing a semblance of internal detail for the first time it draws heavily upon the findings of Hernando de Soto's expedition through the region in 1539-42, derived largely from the account of it given by Gonzalo de Oviedo. However, nothing learnt from the French or Spanish explorations on the Atlantic coastline during the 1560s is incorporated.
The map provided the foundation cartography for the region, particularly noticeable by the depiction of the river system. The map appeared for the first time in the Additamentum from 1584 and was issued in all future editions of the Theatrum." (Burden)

References: Van der Krogt 3 - 9820+9440+9540:31; Van den Broecke - 15; Burden - 57