Holland, by Abraham Ortelius. 1584
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.
Hollandiae Antiquorum Catthorum Sedis Nova Descriptio.
Item Number: 29547 Authenticity Guarantee
Category: Antique maps > Europe > The Netherlands
Old, antique map of Holland, by Abraham Ortelius.
Title: Hollandiae Antiquorum Catthorum Sedis Nova Descriptio.
Auctore Iacobo a Daventria.
Oriented to the east.
Cartographer: J. Deventer.
Date of the first edition: 1570.
Date of this map: 1584.
Copper engraving, printed on paper.
Map size: 355 x 485mm (13.98 x 19.09 inches).
Sheet size: 420 x 540mm (16.54 x 21.26 inches).
Verso: Latin text.
Condition: Original coloured, excellent.
Condition Rating: A+.
From: Theatrum Orbis Terrarum. Antwerp, Christoffel Plantin, 1584. (Van der Krogt, 31:031)
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
Strong impression. Important map.
Comitatus Hollandia 1633
Holland by C.J. Visscher.
[Item number: 2748]
Rare and important map!
Hollandiae Batavor Veteris Insulae Locorum Adiacentium Exacta Descriptio. 1563
Holland, by Camocio G.F. - Forlani P.
[Item number: 9232]
De Cust van Hollandt Tusschen de Maes en Texel. 1686
Holland by Hendrick Doncker.
[Item number: 15677]
Comitatus Hollandiae novissima descriptio. 1638
Holland, by Janssonius J.
[Item number: 19020]
Cust van Hollant tusschen de Maes ende Texel 1667
Sea chart of Holland, by Pieter Goos.
[Item number: 19040]
Hollandiae Antiquorum Catthorum Sedis Nova Descriptio. 1579
Holland by Ortelius A
[Item number: 22594]
Kaart van 't Graafschap Holland Naauwkeurig Afgedeelt in zyne Heemraadschappen, Baljuwschappen en Waarden, 1730-45
Holland by C. Specht, published by R. & J. Ottens.
[Item number: 25706]
La Hollande. 1713
Holland by Pieter Van der Aa.
[Item number: 26059]
Hollandiae Cattorum Regionis Typus. 1588
Holland, by Lodovico Guicciardini.
[Item number: 26656]
Very early Holland map.
Hola(n)d. 1552
Holland by Sebastian Münster.
[Item number: 27467]
Big and spectacular map
Le Comté de Hollande. c. 1705
Holland, by Pieter Mortier.
[Item number: 27807]
Comitatus Hollandiae Tabula Pluribus Locis Recens Emendata A Frederico De Wit. c. 1705
Holland, by Frederick de Wit.
[Item number: 29011]
Hollandia Comitatus. 1643
Holland by Willem Blaeu
[Item number: 30182]
Hollandia. 1617
Holland by Petrus Kaerius (Pieter Van den Keere).
[Item number: 30257]
Hollandiae Antiquorum Catthorum Sedis Nova Descriptio. 1603
Holland, by Abraham Ortelius.
[Item number: 31103]
new
Hollandia Comitatus. 1647
Holland by Willem Blaeu
[Item number: 31104]
new