Namur by Abraham 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.
Namurcum, Comitatus
Item Number: 22940 Authenticity Guarantee
Category: Antique maps > Europe > Belgium
Namur by Abraham Ortelius.
Title: Namurcum, Comitatus.
Oriented to the southwest.
Cartographer: Jacques Surhon.
Date of the first edition: 1579.
Date of this map: 1612.
Copper engraving, printed on paper.
Image size: 385 x 510mm (15.16 x 20.08 inches).
Sheet size: 460 x 565mm (18.11 x 22.24 inches).
Verso: Spanish text.
Condition: 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
Hannonia Namurcum Comitatus. 1619
Hainaut - Namur, by G. Mercator
[Item number: 12182]
Comitatuum Hannoniae Et Namurci Descriptio 1640-43
Hainaut - Namur, by Blaeu W. & J.
[Item number: 13985]
Namurcum, Elegantissima ad Mosae Flume Civitas. 1582
Namur, by Georg Braun and Frans Hogenberg.
[Item number: 14168]
Namurcum Comitatus. 1659-72
Antique map of Namur by J. Blaeu
[Item number: 14785]
Namurcum Comitatus. Na 1612.
Namur, by Ortelius A. - Galle Th.
[Item number: 15490]
Namurcum 1649
Namur by Blaeu J.
[Item number: 18149]
Namurcum ad Mosae flumen sita civitas, ad vivum expressa. 1582
Namur, by Lodovico Guicciardini.
[Item number: 18464]
Comitatus Namurci 1683-1696
Namur, by N. Visscher
[Item number: 24453]
Tractus Inter Sabim Et Mosam 1683-1696
Namur by Visscher N. II.
[Item number: 24460]
Plan qui représente les Environs et la Circonvallation de Namur, du 4. Septembre au 6. Octobre. Avec les differentes positions de l'Armée du Roy et de celle des Alliés, depuis le 30. Juillet jusqu'au 19. Aoust 1746. Levé Geometriquement. 1746
Military manuscript map of the western vicinity of Namur.
[Item number: 24865]
Hannonia. Namurcum Comitatus 1623
Hainaut and Namur, by G. Mercator.
[Item number: 24919]
Namurcum, Elegantissima ad Mosae Flume Civitas. 1581
Namur, by Georg Braun and Frans Hogenberg.
[Item number: 25415]
Nieuwe Kaart van 't Graafschap Namen, met een groot gedeelte van 't Hertogdom Brabant, ... 1720-30
Namur by N. Visscher II, published by P. Schenk.
[Item number: 25921]
Namurcum, preclara ad Mosae flumen civitas, ... 1576
Namur, by Georg Braun & Frans Hogenberg.
[Item number: 26786]
In luxury colouring.
La Ville de Namur avec son Chateau et autres Fortifications. - De sterke Stadt Namen met syn Casteel en andere Fortificatien. 1721-41
Namur by Covens & Mortier.
[Item number: 29495]