|
Description: From an undetermined Latin ed. of the Ortelius Atlas: 'Theatrum Orbis Terrarum'. The map was first published in the 1595 edition of Ortelius' atlas. The map was made based upon modern information from Mercator's 1564 map of the British Isles, improved by a new outline from Saxton's 1579 map (Meurer p. 197, Karrow 56/16, p. 387-388) and ancient knowledge from Diodorus Siculus, Plinius, Appianus, Tacitus, Cæsar, Strabo and numerous other Roman writers. Ref: Van den Broecke #192; Shirley, R.W. (BI to 1650) 186, pl.42.
Artists and Engravers: Made by 'Jan Wierix' after 'Abraham Ortelius'. Koeman notes that Jan Wierix was the engraver of this map incl. the very decorative ships. Abraham Ortelius was born 1528 in Antwerp. He studied mathematics, Greek and Latin and travelled a lot across Europe. He established a business in dealing with books and drawing maps. His first remarkable map was a 8 sheet world map in the year 1564, but only three copies have survived. In 1570 he issued the "Theatrum Orbis Terrarum", the first modern "Atlas" with uniformly sized maps in a systematic collection. The term "Atlas" was not used until Mercator introduced it 20 years later. Most of the maps in Theatrum have been engraved by Frans Hogenberg. At the time of publication, the atlas was the most expensive book ever printed. Nevertheless it was a big success and around 7000 copies have been printed until 1612 in many editions and six different languages. Beside the Theatrum, Ortelius compiled a series of historical maps and published it in the "Parergon Theatri" which was bound with the Theatrum from 1579 onwards or published separately.
|
Subject: Antique map, titled: 'Britannicarum Insularum Typus.' - (British Isles.) The very decorative map shows the British Isles including England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland including decorative scroll-cartouches and ships.
Condition: Excellent, given age. Very nice dark impression. Remains tape from attachment to matting on rear. General age-related toning and/or occasional minor defects from handling. Please study scan carefully.
Size (in cm): The overall size is ca. 59.5 x 47 cm. The image size is ca. 50.5 x 36.5 cm.
Size (in inch): The overall size is ca. 23.4 x 18.5 inch. The image size is ca. 19.9 x 14.4 inch.
Medium: Etching / engraving on hand laid (verge type) paper. Watermark: Shield with horn.
Location: B17-04
|