Title of the map : 

"DESCRIPTIO GERMANIAE INFERIORIS"

Large, unusual and nice antique copper engraved map of Low Countries, from Theatrum Orbis Terrarum by Abraham ORTELIUS (1527-1598).

This map of the Netherlands is known as the 'Egg' map because of its oval strapwork borders. 

It is embellished witha decorative border, and two cherubs holding an ornate banner cartouche. Some sailing ships and a seamonster in the sea.

Edition: Antwerp, Christophe Plantin, 1579, First Plantin Edition, 16th century

Verso text: Latin (page number : 25)

Size of the map with margins: 59 x 46 cm / 23,2 x 18,1 inches

Condition: very good condition, handed colored, strong paper, real large margins

Koemen atributes this map to Jan van Hoirne's 1556 map of the Oosterscherzee which only covers one eighth of the present map. Van der Heijden in "The holdest maps of the Netherlands", Utrecht 1987, thinks that another, unknown map by this cartographer, as mentioned in the "Catalogus" is more likely. Karrow attributes this map to the 1568 map of the Low Countries by Matthias Zündt (1498-1571). Finally, Meurer makes a convincing case for de Jode's 12 sheet map of 1566, itself based primarily on Jacob van Deventer's province maps. 

Abraham Ortelius (1527-1598) is the inventor of the first Atlas. He is the greatest and the best geographe and cartographe.

Abraham Ortelius began his career as a colorist with Christophe Plantin, a printer in Antwerp. He was a cartographer and an humanist. He became a friend of the house and one of the great authors attached to the Plantin-Moretus printing house, were the majority of the atlases were printed at this period. 

Antwerp is in the sixteenth century one of the largest cities in Europe and a major cultural and artistic center. The printing press is flourishing and the Officinia Plantinia or the Compas d'Or, the publishing house founded by Christophe Plantin, is one of the most important and sells books throughout Europe. With 16 presses and 80 employees, it offers an impressive catalogue of various books and maps.

Above all, Ortelius forged a reputation as the inventor of the modern atlas: in 1570, he was the first to collect a series of maps of identical format and style, the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum. He achieved this thanks to his vast knowledge and his numerous contacts with scholars throughout Europe, a few years before his contemporaries Gerard de Jode and Gerard Mercator also published an atlas.

1570, the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum of Ortelius is the first atlas printed in the modern sense of the word; it is published in Latin in Antwerp. The book includes 53 maps, works by different authors, classified from general to particular. 

On the verso of each map, a text exposes the knwoledge of the represented region. The success was immediate and translations from latin to French, German or Dutch were quickly published. When it was published in 1570, this work was the first to compile all known world maps in the same format. It is a huge success despite its high price (it is reputed to be the most expensive book of its century). It will know 42 editions in 7 languages until its last posthumous publications in 1612. 

(ref. Van der Broecke, 58).

If you buy more than one item, you have to pay only one shipping cost.

WE DON'T SELL LASER AND COPIES MAPS, ALL WE SELL IS ORIGINAL AND ANTIQUE

Due to the age an type of paper, some imperfections are to be expected. Please examine the images provided carefully, and if you have any questions please ask and we will be happy to help you