Books

Antwerp, Jan Baptist Vrients, 1603. . Large folio (480 x 300mm); [Theatrum] text in Latin, engraved title, coat of arms, epigraph and portrait of Ortelius, all coloured by a contemporary hand with gilded detailing, 118 plates, all coloured by a contemporary hand, all woodcut initials coloured by a contemporary hand (some light, variable spotting and offsetting, marginal spitting, a few repaired tears); [Parergon] engraved title and 38 plates, all coloured by a contemporary hand (some light spotting and offsetting, a few small tears); [Nomenclator] title page with hand-coloured vignette; finely bound in modern red morocco, spine richly gilt in 8 compartments, green ties. One of the largest and finest editions of Ortelius's Theatrum, comprising 156 plates handsomely coloured by a contemporary hand. Ortelius, geographer to King Philip II of Spain, is credited with having authored the first modern atlas, the Theatrum orbis terrarum. Following Ortelius' death, his copperplates were…

Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, or "Theatre of the World", is considered to be the first true modern atlas, comprising a collection of maps in a uniform format.