Abraham Ortelius

Abraham Ortelius (Antwerp 1527 to 1598) began as a colourist and dealer in maps and became the editor of the world. His Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, published at Antwerp in 1570, was the first modern atlas: a systematic collection of maps of uniform size, each engraved on copper for the book and each credited to its source in the Catalogus Auctorum. The Theatrum was reissued and enlarged until 1612 in Latin, Dutch, German, French, Spanish, Italian and English; a final Spanish edition appeared at the Plantin press in 1641. From 1579 Ortelius added the Parergon, an atlas of the ancient world drawn by himself, and from 1577 the Epitome, a pocket version for the traveller.

For the collector, the interest of an Ortelius sheet lies in the plate and the edition. Each map exists in a small number of copperplates and in dozens of editions, identified by the text on the verso; Van den Broecke's census records them all. Early Latin impressions, Spanish and English editions and maps with contemporary colour are the most sought after.

The works below are the Ortelius atlases and maps currently in our collection. Each is described with its plate, edition and state, with references to Van den Broecke and Van der Krogt.