ABRAHAM ORTELIUS

(1527 / 1598)

ABRAHAM ORTELIUS (1527 / 1598) "Theatro d'el orbe de la tierra de Abraham Ortello. El qual antes el estremo dia de su vida por la postrera vez ha emendadi, y con nueuas Tablas y Commentarios augmentado y esclarescido" Antwerp, 1612

"In Antwerp, it is sold at the Plantinian Library", 1612. Frontispiece and shield+11 leaves+127 pages (pages 6, 18, 121 and 124 are missing)+122 maps, therefore the engravings would be missing: "Pacific Ocean", "County", "Catalonia", "Sumatra, Zeylan Island" and "Holy Land". Original parchment with blind engravings. All leaves unstitched, prepared for rebinding. Dampness on the last pages and in the binding. We can consider it as the first Atlas of the modern era; Including educational texts on the culture and environments of the represented geographical regions. In Antwerp, in the Netherlands, one of the wealthiest cities of the Spanish Empire, this ambitious publishing project was undertaken by Ortelius, with the support of Benito Arias Montano, the clergyman in charge of publishing the Complutensian Polyglot Bible in Antwerp. Despite its high price, it was very well received by the nobility of the time, as it demonstrated a comprehensive geographical knowledge that had not been so thoroughly compiled until then. Measurements: 50.5 x 33.5 cm.