Books

Antwerp: Abraham Ortelius, 1609. 4th State. Very Good. [13.5x18.25in, 34.3x46.4cm neat line, 15.5x21.5in, 39.4x54.6cm sheet] Colored and very ornate map of part of Europe, Russia, Siberia, Northwest cost of North America, and Japan, ornate title and narrative cartouche, the map is in Latin with a Dutch narrative on verso with #74 at bottom, single vertical crease, colors vibrant, light age toning and minor soiling on verso. [Burden 41, Van Den Broecke 163, Wagner Northwest 81 (1570), Wheat Trans-Miss 16 (1570), Skelton Plate 60] CS. Abraham Ortelius (1527-1598) was a Dutch cartographer and publisher of the first 'modern style' atlas in 1570, the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (Theatre of the World). Maps were produced, published and sold individually in different sizes and formats, and then bound in books as selected by the buyer. The Ortelius atlas was published with uniform size, formatting and coloring of the maps, along with narratives on the verso. There were a number of printings…

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.