R3,500 - R4,500
Abraham Ortelius - INSVLARVM ALIQVOT MARIS MEDITERRANEI DESCRIPTO
Uncoloured copperplate engraving. Centre fold. Latin text on verso.
Image 36 x 47cm, on sheet 40 x 52cm
Maps of Sardinia, Sicilia, Corfu, Zerbi, Elba and Malta, after Jean Quintin and Antonio Lafreri, from the atlas “Theatrum Orbis Terrarum,” first published by Abraham Ortelius in Antwerp in 1570. The layout is done in a symmetrical system of six rectangular sections, separated from each other by plain straight borders. Some of the maps include sailing ships, Malta’s map showing one sinking to indicate St’ Paul shipwreck. Place names, each noted with a building symbol, rivers and mountains are indicated for each island.
Abraham Ortelius (1527 –1598) was an Antwerp based cartographer best known for the publication in 1570 of the first modern atlas, the “Theatrum Orbis Terrarum,” covering the contemporary cartographic knowledge. He personally drew the maps, which were then engraved by Ambrosius and Ferdinand Arsenius and Frans Hogenberg. The atlas was published between 1570 and 1612 in 31 editions, with text in Latin, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and English, the 1570 edition having 70 maps on 53 sheets, and the 1612 edition having 167. After Ortelius's death the copper plates passed to his heirs, then in 1601 sold to Jan Baptist Vrients who added new maps and published the atlas until his death in 1612. Later the plates were sold to the Moretus brothers, successors of Christoffel Plantin, and some maps published until 1640.
Condition: Good. Small sections of bottom corners and sides are missing. Small sticker to bottom left-hand corner, and small note in pencil to bottom right-hand corner. Slight discolouration, and a few small spots of wrinkling to map. Minor foxing to verso. Map has been professionally mounted.
Fees apply to the hammer price:
Room and Absentee Bids:| 1 to 10000: | 23% inc VAT* |
| 10001+: | 19.55% inc VAT* |
| 1 to 10000: | 23% inc VAT* |
| 10001+: | 19.55% inc VAT* |
