The Baroque style illuminated codex has been numerously reworked and republished. It is considered to be first modern and first commercially successful atlas in the world. The atlas created by Abraham Ortelius is a work which united all of the cartographical findings of the 16th century. The Most Beautiful Books of Hours and Prayer Books It also contained the first accurate European map of Japan.The Most Beautiful Facsimiles Under 1,000€ It was also the first to make the maps uniform in style and scale and, unusually, the individual maps were not issued for sale beforehand, as Ortelius thought of them as a coherent whole. Although collections of maps had been bound together in the past, this was made according to principles laid down by its editor rather than a customer. He then began his magnum opus, Theatrum orbis terrarum, the first atlas in the modern sense of the world. He moved into the publishing side of the business in 1561, after he assembled a collection of maps of Europe for his patron Gillis Hooftman, and three years later he produced his own eight sheet world map, Typus orbis terrarum.
He dealt in maps and books to supplement his income, and met Gerard Mercator at the Frankfurt book fair in 1554. He lived with his sister Anna, who was also a map colourist one of his clients specifically requested an atlas coloured by her. He began his career as a map colourist, enrolling in the Guild of St Luke in Antwerp in 1547, and appearing in the books of the Plantin publishing house in 1558 as a “peintre des cartes”. Show moreĪbraham Ortelius was a cartographer and publisher, and the first person to publish an atlas as we now know it. Van der Krogt states that Christoffel Plantin published 255 copies of the 1588 edition, and records 24 institutional copies. The Franciscan monk Balthasar Vincentius translated the text into Spanish. After a short stay in Calvanist Leiden it was necessary for him to prove his loyalty to the Spanish king, so he decided to publish a Spanish translation of the atlas, dedicated to the future King Philip III. The Spanish edition was the initiative of the publisher Christoffel Plantin. The work would go on to be published for 42 years, with some 31 editions being produced. Even though it was the most expensive work published at the time, it proved an instant success with four versions of the first edition being printed in 1570 alone.
With its comprehensive scope, the atlas was a huge step forward compared with the contemporary ‘Lafreri’ atlases, which were bound up to order and so reflected the whims of the customer.
The work was “the first true atlas” (van der Broecke): all the maps were of a uniform size and style, with an engraved title, accompanying text, and - hitherto unheard of in cartographic publications - a list of the source material. These contacts would prove invaluable in the compiling and completion of his ‘Theatrum orbis Terrarum’ first published in 1570. It was whilst travelling that Ortelius built up his unrivalled web of contacts, which included many of the leading historians, scientists, and cartographer’s of the day. He travelled extensively in his search for new material and was a well-known face at the Frankfurt bookfairs. He began his career as a “kaarten afzetter” (illuminator of maps) purchasing single (generally wall) maps from booksellers and colouring them for re-sale. A fine example of the first Spanish edition of Ortelius’ Theatrum - “the first true atlas”.Ībraham Ortelius (1527–1598) took an active interest in cartography from an early age.
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