This product is successfully added to your cart
Questions about this product? (#12909)

Authenticity Guarantee
All items are guaranteed authentic prints (woodcuts or engravings) or manuscripts made at or about (c.) the given date and in good condition unless stated otherwise. We don’t sell facsimiles or reproductions. We deliver every map with a Certificate of Authenticity containing all the details.

Brabant, with an inset map of the district of Mechelen, by Abraham Ortelius. 1601

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.

back

Brabantiae Descriptio

€500  ($545 / £420)
add to cart
Buy now
questions?
PRINT

Item Number:  12909 Authenticity Guarantee

Category:  Antique maps > Europe > Belgium

Old, antique map of Brabant, with an inset map of the district of Mechelen, by Abraham Ortelius.

Title: Brabantiae Descriptio.

Date of the first edition: 1592.
Date of this map: 1601.

Copper engraving, printed on paper.
Size (not including margins): 370 x 480mm (14.57 x 18.9 inches).
Verso: Latin text.
Condition: Uncoloured, excellent.
Condition Rating: A.

From: Ortelius A.,Theatrum Orbis Terrarum Abrahami Ortelii Antverp. Geographi Regii. Antwerpen, Plantin Press, 1601. (Van der Krogt 3, 1:052)

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.

References: Van der Krogt 3 - 3100:31B; Van den Broecke - 66; Dorigo-Franssen (Brabant) - #20.3; Karrow - 1/186

Related items

Mechelen, door Matthäus Merian & Martin Zeiller.

Mechelen. 1659
Mechelen, door Matthäus Merian & Martin Zeiller.
[Item number: 407]

€300  ($327 / £252)
Brabant by C.J. Visscher.

Brabantia Ducatus / Tabula Ducatus Brabantiae Continens Marchionatum Sacri Imperij et Dominium Mechliniense Magna cura edita à Nicolao Iohannis Visscher. Anno 1622. 1622
Brabant by C.J. Visscher.
[Item number: 2640]

€3000  ($3270 / £2520)
Old antique map of Brussels by W. & J. Blaeu.

Secunda Pars Brabantiae cuius urbs primaria Bruxellae. 1659-72
Old antique map of Brussels by W. & J. Blaeu.
[Item number: 2966]

€400  ($436 / £336)
The Fossa Eugeniana, by W. & J. Blaeu.

Fossa Sanctae Mariae, quae et Eugeniana Dicitur vulgo de Nieuwe Grift 1640-43
The Fossa Eugeniana, by W. & J. Blaeu.
[Item number: 13995]

€340  ($370.6 / £285.6)
Antwerpen - Mechelen by Visscher N. II.

Tetrarchiae Antverpiensis Pars Meridionalis 1683-1696
Antwerpen - Mechelen by Visscher N. II.
[Item number: 14777]

€460  ($501.4 / £386.4)
Brabant by Abraham Goos,published by Joannes Janssonius.

Ducatus Brabantiae. 1631
Brabant by Abraham Goos,published by Joannes Janssonius.
[Item number: 17723]

€250  ($272.5 / £210)
Brabant by Henricus Hondius, published by J. Janssonius.

Novissima et Accuratissima Brabantiae Ducatus Tabula. 1638
Brabant by Henricus Hondius, published by J. Janssonius.
[Item number: 19012]

€500  ($545 / £420)
Breda - Bergen op Zoom, by Visscher N. II

Brabantiae Batavae Pars Occidentalis 1683-1696
Breda - Bergen op Zoom, by Visscher N. II
[Item number: 20266]

€550  ($599.5 / £462)
Northern Brabant, by Blaeu W. & J.

Quarta Pars Brabantiae cujus caput Sylvaducis. 1635
Northern Brabant, by Blaeu W. & J.
[Item number: 20384]

€500  ($545 / £420)
Brabant, by W. Blaeu.

Brabantia Ducatus. 1647-50
Brabant, by W. Blaeu.
[Item number: 22657]

€650  ($708.5 / £546)
Northern Brabant, by Frederick de Wit.

Brabantiae, pars Septentrionalis c. 1680
Northern Brabant, by Frederick de Wit.
[Item number: 24653]

€460  ($501.4 / £386.4)
Brabant by M. Quad - J. Bussemacher.

Brabantiae Belgarum provinciae recens exactaque descriptio. 1602
Brabant by M. Quad - J. Bussemacher.
[Item number: 25235]

€400  ($436 / £336)
 Brabant, by A. Ortelius.

Brabantiae Descriptio. 1595
Brabant, by A. Ortelius.
[Item number: 25573]

€900  ($981 / £756)
Southern Brabant by Henricus Hondius.

Pars Meridionalis Brabantiae continens Dominium Mechliniense Ducatum Arschotanum. 1641
Southern Brabant by Henricus Hondius.
[Item number: 26303]

€380  ($414.2 / £319.2)
Northern Brabant, by W. Blaeu.

Quarta Pars Brabantiae cujus caput Sylvaducis. 1643-50
Northern Brabant, by W. Blaeu.
[Item number: 26304]

€890  ($970.1 / £747.6)
Northern Brabant, by Henricus Hondius.

Brabantiae Pars Septentrionalis Continens ... 1641
Northern Brabant, by Henricus Hondius.
[Item number: 26305]

€350  ($381.5 / £294)
Brabant, by Michele Tramezini.

Important and rare map.
Brabantiae Belgarum Provinciae Recens Exactaque Descriptio. 1558
Brabant, by Michele Tramezini.
[Item number: 26713]

€5000  ($5450 / £4200)
The Duchy of Brabant by Pieter van den Keere (Petrus Kaerius).

Brabantia Ducatus Machliniae Urbis Dominium. 1617
The Duchy of Brabant by Pieter van den Keere (Petrus Kaerius).
[Item number: 28672]

€1400  ($1526 / £1176)
Mechelen by Lodovico Guicciardini.

Malines. 1567
Mechelen by Lodovico Guicciardini.
[Item number: 29158]

€220  ($239.8 / £184.8)
Brabant by Lodovico Guicciardini.

First edition, woodcut
Descrittione particulare di Brabante. 1567
Brabant by Lodovico Guicciardini.
[Item number: 29504]

€360  ($392.4 / £302.4)
Brabant & Zuid Limburg by Eugene Fricx.

Exactissima Brabantiae et Limburgi Tabula Illustrissimis Brabantiae Ordinibus. 1712
Brabant & Zuid Limburg by Eugene Fricx.
[Item number: 29546]

€270  ($294.3 / £226.8)
Northwest Brabant by G.L. Le Rouge.

Le Brabant Hollandois et Autrichien. 1747
Northwest Brabant by G.L. Le Rouge.
[Item number: 30255]

€350  ($381.5 / £294)
Southern Brabant par Robert de Vaugondy.

Partie Septentrionale du Duché de Brabant où se trouvent les Mairies de Bosleduc de Turnhout, de Santhoven, d'Herentals, les Marquisats de Berg-op-Zoom, et du St Empire, la Baronie de Bréda partie de la Seigneurie de Malines, et de l'Evêché de Lyége &c. 1757
Southern Brabant par Robert de Vaugondy.
[Item number: 30403]

€250  ($272.5 / £210)
Historical map of Southern Brabant, by Guillaume Sanson, published by P. Mariette.

Menapii. Dioecese de l'Archev[es]ché de Malines. Partie meridionale du Duché de Brabant, ou sont les quartiers de Louvain, et du Brusselles; et la seign[eu]rie de Malines. 1679-1710
Historical map of Southern Brabant, by Guillaume Sanson, published by P. Mariette.
[Item number: 30520]

€320  ($348.8 / £268.8)
Brabant by Frederick De Wit.

Tabula Ducatus Brabantiae continens Marchionatum Sacri Imperiii et Dominium Mechliniense 1670-71
Brabant by Frederick De Wit.
[Item number: 30526]

€450  ($490.5 / £378)
Mechelen by Petrus Van den Keere (Kaerius).

Mechlinia. 1617
Mechelen by Petrus Van den Keere (Kaerius).
[Item number: 30655]

€1100  ($1199 / £924)
Brabant by Gerard Mercator.

[No Title] 1630
Brabant by Gerard Mercator.
[Item number: 30943]  new

€300  ($327 / £252)