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Mr. Philip D. Burden
P.O. Box 863,
Chalfont St. Giles, Bucks HP6 9HD,
UNITED KINGDOM
Tel: +44 (0) 1494 76 33 13
Email: [email protected]
A large scale map of the region of Franconia by Abraham Ortelius centred on the Main River from its source to the city of Frankfurt in Germany. The map is orientated to the west and displays the area between Nuremberg and Coburg, and from Kulmbach to Frankfurt. With Würzburg, Aschaffenburg and Kitzingen in the centre. A title cartouche appears lower left which identifies its source as being a woodcut map by Sebastian Rotenhan (1478-1532) which was published posthumously in 1533 of which only two examples survive.
Abraham Ortelius (1527-98) developed an interest in cartography, geography, and history at an early age. He began as a ‘kaarten afzetter’ (or illuminator of maps) and would purchase single maps from booksellers and colour them for re-sale, mounted on linen suitable for wall-hanging. At twenty he was entered in the Guild of St Luke at Antwerp. Ortelius travelled extensively in Europe, and maintained regular correspondence with mapmakers, historians, and scientists, acquiring information, which was to form his greatest opus, the ‘Theatrum Orbis Terrarum’. What made the atlas stand out as the first modern atlas was its uniformity. They were produced in a similar style and none of the ancient Ptolemaic maps were included. The atlas was accompanied a catalogue of the authors whose source Ortelius had drawn upon in compiling the work. Without this list many cartographers of the day would remain unknown to us today.
From its first appearance in 1570, the ‘Theatrum’ was far more comprehensive in scope than any contemporary work. In all, over forty different editions were published, with text in Latin, Dutch, German, French, Spanish, English or Italian, with the maps being frequently revised or replaced. This example bears Spanish text on the verso and is from the edition of 1602. Van Den Broecke (1996) 100; Karrow (1993) pp. 453-6, 64/1; Van der Krogt (1997-2010) 2550+2330:31.
Abraham Ortelius (1527-98) developed an interest in cartography, geography, and history at an early age. He began as a ‘kaarten afzetter’ (or illuminator of maps) and would purchase single maps from booksellers and colour them for re-sale, mounted on linen suitable for wall-hanging. At twenty he was entered in the Guild of St Luke at Antwerp. Ortelius travelled extensively in Europe, and maintained regular correspondence with mapmakers, historians, and scientists, acquiring information, which was to form his greatest opus, the ‘Theatrum Orbis Terrarum’. What made the atlas stand out as the first modern atlas was its uniformity. They were produced in a similar style and none of the ancient Ptolemaic maps were included. The atlas was accompanied a catalogue of the authors whose source Ortelius had drawn upon in compiling the work. Without this list many cartographers of the day would remain unknown to us today.
From its first appearance in 1570, the ‘Theatrum’ was far more comprehensive in scope than any contemporary work. In all, over forty different editions were published, with text in Latin, Dutch, German, French, Spanish, English or Italian, with the maps being frequently revised or replaced. This example bears Spanish text on the verso and is from the edition of 1602. Van Den Broecke (1996) 100; Karrow (1993) pp. 453-6, 64/1; Van der Krogt (1997-2010) 2550+2330:31.