A fine copy of this one of the most famous and decorative of all the Abraham Ortelius maps from the Latin edition of 1592. It is most loved because of the striking array of monsters displayed in the waters offshore. These are keyed and described in the text on the verso. Many can be linked to real creatures such as whales and walrus’, however some are complete fantasy. Top right we find polar bears fighting on the ice flows. The south eastern shoreline displays logs offshore, a reference to a vital economic source of the island. The island itself is not ignored with ample display of its mountains and volcanic heritage with rocks and flames spewing forth from one. The cartography is attributed by Ortelius to Andres Sorensen Vedel, a Danish historian, who himself acquired the information from a now lost map by Bishop Gudbrandur Thorlaksson. Van den Broecke, M. #161; Campbell, T. (Early) pp. 88-89; Dreyer-Eimbcke, Oswald. (2000). ‘Cartographic History of Iceland’, in IMCoS Journal no. 81 pp.13-33; Ginsberg, W.B. (Scandinavia) fig. 24.8.