Abraham Ortelius is widely recognized as the inventor of the atlas and one of the most prominent geographers in history. He is one of the best known and most frequently collected of all sixteenth-century mapmakers, and today, hand-colored, copperplate-printed Abraham Ortelius maps continue to command avid interest.
Ortelius was the eldest of the three children of an Antwerp merchant. After his father's death when he was ten, he was raised by his uncle Jacob Van Meteren — a financier and printer of early English versions of the Bible. Ortelius entered the Guild of Saint Luke in 1547 to become a map copier and colorist, but his hobbies overshadowed his studies.
Ortelius was better known as a student of history and a collector of books and old coins than a cartographer — only initially garnering modest praise for his skills at mapmaking. Gleaning what he learned from his uncle, he became a dealer in books and prints. In 1554 he attended the annual Frankfurt Book Fair, where he met the highly respected cartographer Gerardus Mercator.
Ortelius refocused his work in mapmaking after that fateful encounter. He eventually published Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (Theater of the World) — a comprehensive collection of maps that he bound into a book. It was the first of its kind and is now recognized as the first modern-day atlas. While creating his atlas, Ortelius observed that the coast of America shared geometrical similarities with the shores of Europe and Africa. When he lined up maps of the coastlines of the continents, they matched — much like pieces in a jigsaw puzzle.
Some have argued that the concept of continental drift is at least partly rooted in Ortelius’s 16th-century-era suggestion that the continents had once been joined together as a single mass of land before the Americas were pulled away from Europe and Africa. Much later, in 1912, German meteorologist Alfred Wegener proposed in a lecture and an article that the continents had once been locked together based on data he collected. Wegener was widely ridiculed at the time, but the foundation of modern-day science of plate tectonics has its origins in his work.
On May 18, 2008, a Google Doodle celebrated the 300th anniversary of Ortelius’s atlas.
On 1stDibs, find original Abraham Ortelius prints, landscape prints and more.
Hand Colored Framed Map Print of North Africa
By Abraham Ortelius
Located in Barcelona, ES
Original antique map of North Africa Antique framed map print titled 'Barbariae et Biledulgerid Nova Descriptio'. Artist: Abraham Ortelius (1527 -1598) Published by A. Ortelius, ci...
Giltwood, Paper
$3,685Sale Price|35% Off
Antique Ortelius Map of Asia Featuring Japan, China, Taiwan & East Indies, 1587
By Abraham Ortelius
Located in Langweer, NL
Ortelius Asia Japan China Taiwan Philippines East Indies Antique Map 1570 This highly important early map of Asia titled “Indiae Orientalis Insularumque Adiacientium Typus” is one of the most influential 16th-century European depictions of East and Southeast Asia. Published by Abraham Ortelius for his groundbreaking atlas Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, this map presents a sweeping geographical vision of the Far East before the full penetration of the Dutch into the region. It covers India, Indochina, China, Korea, Japan, the Philippines, the East Indies or Spice Islands, New Guinea, and parts of the western Pacific. Ortelius was the first European cartographer to name Formosa (modern Taiwan), marking a milestone in Western geographic knowledge of Asia. Japan appears in its famous early “kite-shaped” form, shown as a large oval island...
Paper
Antique Miniature Map of the Roman Province of Illyricum 'Dalmatia', 1612
By Abraham Ortelius
Located in Langweer, NL
Antique miniature map titled 'Illyricum'. Original small map of Illyricum. The Roman province of Illyricum stretched from the Drilon River (the Drin, in...
Paper
Antique Map of Sicily, Sardinia, Corfu, Elba, Malta and Zerbi (Jerba), c.1579
By Abraham Ortelius
Located in Langweer, NL
Antique map titled 'Insularum Aliquot Maris Mediterranei Descriptio'. A very attractive example of Ortelius' map combining, on one page, maps of the islands of Sicily, Sardinia, Corfu, Elba, Malta and Zerbi (Jerba, off the coast of Tunisia.) The maps detail fortifications on the islands and other major features. (Jerba, for instance, is shown connected to the mainland by a causeway.) The waters are attractively engraved and are sailed by ships. A shipwreck, north of Malta, indicates the point at which St. Paul is thought to have shipwrecked. Volcanoes are indicated in the Sicily map...
Paper
$604Sale Price|20% Off
Antique Map of the Region of Mansfeld, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany
By Abraham Ortelius
Located in Langweer, NL
Antique map titled 'Mansfeldiae Comitatus Descriptio'. Original antique map of the region of Mansfeld, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Shows the area between Halle a. d. Saale, Aschersleben,...
Paper
$348Sale Price|62% Off
H 22.84 in W 15.75 in D 0.04 in
Antique Map of Principality of Monaco, Late 19th Century, Paper Print
By Antonio Vallardi Editore
Located in Alessandria, Piemonte
"Old Geographical Atlas of Italy - Topographic map of ex-Principality of Monaco" - ediz Vallardi - Milano - A somewhat special edition --- ref. ST/619 -
Paper
$441 / item
H 19.3 in W 19.3 in D 1.58 in
Italian Contemporary Hand Colored Palm Print with Round Wooden Frame 1 of 2
Located in Scandicci, Florence
One of four hand watercolored and press printed botanical print with black wooden frame.. Each print is entirely printed and colored in Italy by our mastercraftsmen. The complete set...
Paper, Wood
Map of the Republic of Genoa
Located in New York, NY
Framed antique hand-coloured map of the Republic of Genoa including the duchies of Mantua, Modena, and Parma. Europe, late 18th century. Dimension: 25...
$1,250
H 10.25 in W 13.25 in D 0.5 in
Antique 18th Century Map of the Province of Pensilvania 'Pennsylvania State'
Located in Philadelphia, PA
A fine antique of the colony of Pennsylvania. Noted at the top of the sheet as a 'Map of the province of Pensilvania'. This undated and anonymous map is thought to be from the Gentleman's Magazine, London, circa 1775, although the general appearance could date it to the 1760's. The southern boundary reflects the Mason-Dixon survey (1768), the western boundary is placed just west of Pittsburgh, and the northern boundary is not marked. The map has a number of reference points that likely refer to companion text and appear to be connected to boundaries. The western and southern boundaries are marked Q, R, S, for example. A diagonal line runs from the Susquehanna R to the Lake Erie P. A broken line marked by many letters A, B, N, O, etc., appears in the east. There are no latitude or longitude markings, blank verso. Framed in a shaped contemporary gilt wooden frame and matted under a cream colored matte. Bearing an old Graham Arader Gallery...
Paper
$875
H 20 in W 23.63 in D 0.07 in
Hand-Colored 18th Century Homann Map of the Black Sea, Turkey and Asia Minor
By Johann Baptist Homann
Located in Alamo, CA
An attractive original early 18th century hand-colored map of the Black Sea and Turkey entitled "Carte de L'Asie Minevre ou de la Natolie et du Pont Evxin Tiree des Voyages et des Ob...
Paper
$137Sale Price / set|20% Off
H 12.21 in W 9.65 in D 0.02 in
Antique Map of North Africa by Lowry '1852'
Located in Langweer, NL
Antique map titled 'North Africa Marocco Algiers & Tunis'. Two individual sheets of North Africa. This map originates from 'Lowry's Table Atlas constructed and engraved from the most...
Paper
$441 / item
H 19.3 in W 19.3 in D 1.58 in
Italian Contemporary Hand Colored Palm Print with Round Wooden Frame 2 of 2
Located in Scandicci, Florence
One of four hand watercolored and press printed botanical print with black wooden frame. Each print is entirely printed and colored in Italy by our mastercraftsmen. The complete set ...
Wood, Paper
$1,875
H 20.5 in W 23.5 in D 0.13 in
West Africa Entitled "Guinea Propria": An 18th Century Hand Colored Homann Map
By Johann Baptist Homann
Located in Alamo, CA
This is a scarce richly hand colored copper plate engraved map of Africa entitled "Guinea Propria, nec non Nigritiae vel Terrae Nigrorum Maxima Pars" by Johann Baptist Homann (1664-1...
Paper
$680Sale Price|20% Off
H 43 in W 27 in D 0.25 in
Vintage "View of the Center of Paris Taken from the Air" Lithograph Map
Located in San Diego, CA
A very stylish "View of the Center of Paris Taken from the Air" lithograph map published by the Paris Ministry of Tourism, circa early 1950s. The piece measures 27" x 43" and shows...
Paper
$146Sale Price|20% Off
H 10.63 in W 6.89 in D 0 in
Original Hand-Colored Antique Print of an African Warrior, ca.1845
Located in Langweer, NL
Antique print titled 'Kaffer-Krieger'. Original antique print of an African warrior. This print originates from 'Die Volker des Erdballs (..)' by H. Berghaus. Artists and eng...
Paper
$195
H 61.42 in W 100.01 in D 0.79 in
Vintage Mural Map of North Africa Countrycore African Wall Chart Decoration
Located in Berghuelen, DE
The wall map shows North Africa. It was published by Westermann-Schulwandkarten. Used as teaching material in German schools. Colorful print on paper reinforced with canvas, Measurem...
Canvas, Wood, Paper
Vintage Rollable Map Southeast Asia China Japan Wall Chart
Located in Berghuelen, DE
A classical pull-down school map showing the popular region of Southeast Asia with China and Japan. Published by Haack-Painke Justus-Perthes Darmstadt. Colorful print on paper reinfo...
Canvas, Wood, Paper
Sold
H 26 in W 30 in D 0.13 in
16th Century Hand-Colored Map of the Burgundy Wine Region of France by Ortelius
By Abraham Ortelius
Located in Alamo, CA
This beautiful hand-colored map of the Burgundy wine region in France is entitled "Burgundiae Comitatus Recentiss Descriptio Dno Ferdinando Lannoyo auc...
Paper
Antique Map of the Region of Apulia by Ortelius, 1612
By Abraham Ortelius
Located in Langweer, NL
Antique map titled 'Apuliae, quae olim Lapygia nova corographia'. Beautiful map of the region of Apulia, Italy. This map originates from 'Theatrum Orbis Terrarum' by A. Ortelius.
Paper
Antique Map of the Region of Calabria by Ortelius, 1612
By Abraham Ortelius
Located in Langweer, NL
Antique map titled 'Calabriae Descrip. Per Prosperum Parisium Consent'. Beautiful map of the region of Calabria, Southern Italy. This map originates from 'Theatrum Orbis Terrarum' by...
Paper
Antique Map of Mexico by Ortelius, circa 1602
By Abraham Ortelius
Located in Langweer, NL
Antique map titled 'Hispaniae Novae Sivae Magnae Recens Et Vera Descriptio 1579'. Map of western New Spain, showing the recently-created Spanish settlements, many rivers, and large l...
Paper
Sold
H 14 in W 19.5 in D 1 in
Map of the Americas by Abraham Ortelius, 16th Century Framed Original Engraving
By Abraham Ortelius
Located in CHARLESTON, SC
Rare and fine framed engraving map of the Americas "Americae Sive Novi Orbin Nova Descriptio" by Abraham Ortelius (hand colored later) Ortelius' map of the Americas is the most re...
Paper