Books

Antwerp: Officina Plantiniana, 1591. First edition. THE FIRST MODERN WORLD ATLAS HAND-COLOURED AND HEIGHTENED IN GOLD. Fourth Latin edition of the first modern world atlas, and a copy hand-coloured and heightened in gold. First published in 1570, the Theatrum is the first atlas to contain maps printed in a uniform style and format and to display a catalogue of the authors whose source Ortelius used in the drawing of the maps. Ortelius's atlas "set a standard by which subsequent collections would be judged and compared" (Short). Even though it was the most expensive work published at the time, it proved an instant success with four versions of the first edition being printed in 1570 alone. Several editions were printed at the Officina Plantiniana at the end of the 16th century and from 1585 Ortelius began to include historical maps in a section called Paregon. The maps and plates in the Parergon may be considered "the most outstanding engravings depicting the wide-spread interest…

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.