ORTELIUS | Theatrum orbis terrarum, 1584, 3 parts in one

ORTELIUS, ABRAHAM

THEATRUM ORBIS TERRARUM. ANTWERP: CHRISTOPHER PLANTIN, 1584

Second Latin edition printed by Plantin, folio (446 x 290mm.), 3 parts in one, THEATRUM, engraved architectural title, engraved portrait of Ortelius by Galle, Catalogus auctorum with 134 names, 100 mapsheets; PARERGON, woodcut drop-head title, 12 mapsheets (including the two-sheet map of Egypt), NOMENCLATOR, letterpress title, together 112 double-page engraved mapsheets, later vellum, new endpapers, damp-staining, leaves and maps remargined or repaired (largely marginal), occasional marginal loss or small areas in facsimile, a complete condition report is available upon request

GOOD IMPRESSIONS. The Theatrum is widely recognised as the first modern atlas, which came to shape the future of cartography. "Shape and contents set the standards for later atlases, when the centre of the map-trade moved from Antwerp to Amsterdam. The characteristic feature of the Theatrum is, that it consists of two elements, forming part of a unitary whole: text and maps. This concept for a 'Theatre of the world' was followed through the 17th century. Before Ortelius no one had done this" (Koeman). The appended Catalogus auctorum is a unique source of names of contemporary cartographers, some of whom would otherwise have remained obscure. 

LITERATURE:

Koeman III, Ort 27B; Van der Krogt 31:031

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