![]() ![]() However, map B, the later version, now shows the North Pole as a single landmass named “Unknown Northern Land”. In the centre of this vast Polar Sea there was a gigantic whirlpool and the Rupes Nigra, or mountain of iron, sometimes known as Mount Meru this served to explain the existence of the Magnetic North. This is a reflection of Mercator’s theory that there was a continuous body of water on the North Pole, fed by the oceans of the world. However the major difference between the two maps is the portrayal of the North Polar landmass as four separate islands as depicted on Map A. Brendan’s Isle and Brazil among many others. Ortelius’s main sources for this part of his map are his good friend Gerhard Mercator of Mercator’s Projection fame, the controversial voyage of the Venetian Zeno brothers and the map of Olaus Magnus, the Swedish Archbishop of Uppsala.īoth versions of the map contain the mythical islands of Friesland, Groclant, St. The North Atlantic region on the two maps is a haven for mythical islands, legends and misconceptions, all due to the never ending search for the Northwest Passage, in its infancy during this period. Instead, we will be concentrating on the geographical differences. At first glance the most obvious difference is the border design of the map, but that will not be the main focus of our post on this occasion. The illustration above shows the two printings of the map concerned. First map dated 1579, and second map dated 1592 It is the two versions of this particular map which will be the focus of our study today.Ībraham Ortelius’s Typus Orbis Terrarum. Long and extraordinary voyages were providing new and exciting information about the world for the first time and Ortelius was at the forefront of both its collation and distribution. This was the first map in the book, the most likely to make an indelible impression and also the most likely to be subjected to the vast influx of geographical information which was flooding Europe during this period. Out of all the revisions to individual Ortelius maps, the most radical was performed on his map of the world. Thus, the first edition of the atlas contained seventy maps and the last edition contained one hundred and sixty-seven. One of the secrets of its success was Ortelius’s use of maps by other mapmakers, usually the great learned men from the courts of Europe hence the reason why we have maps by individuals such as Wolfgang Lazius, historian to Emperor Franz Ferdinand I of the Holy Roman Empire, Giacomo Gastaldi, one of the greatest members of the “Lafreri” School of Italian Cartography as well as Ludovico Texeira, a noted Portuguese Jesuit cartographer who provided the first European depictions of the individual islands of Japan.ĭuring his lifetime, Ortelius was also continually revising, editing, changing, sometimes completely replacing, as well as adding individual maps to the Theatrum. The work was an immediate success, ultimately going through more than thirty editions, from 1570 to 1612, despite the death of Ortelius himself in 1598. In short, he produced the first ever “Atlas” although that term was not coined until substantially later, in 1595. The “Theatrum Orbis Terrarum” or “Theater of the World” was a bound collection of maps, all of the same size and style, curated to take the reader on a journey around the world as it was known in the late 16 th century. However, it was in 1570 that he produced the work that is now regarded as his legacy and is often cited as one of the most important printed works ever published. Following quickly after that, he produced a six sheet map of Spain, a two sheet map of Egypt and an eight sheet map of Asia, all in the 1560s. The first map that Ortelius produced under his own name is traced to 1564, a large world map in eight sheets known in one example, now in the library of the University of Basel. Indeed, there are records of Ortelius regularly visiting the Frankfurt Book Fair in the mid-16 th century. He was also a very active businessman, dealing extensively in maps, prints and books, both his own and from other sources. Due to his involvement in the trade, he built a formidable network of contacts throughout Europe. Through his father, he was involved in the antiquarian trade from an early age and as an adult, became part of the cartographic industry as a map engraver and illuminator. Ortelius was born in Flanders in 1527 and is regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of cartography. One of the most prominent examples suitable for this exercise are maps by Abraham Ortelius. One of the privileges of working in The Map House with such a large collection of antique maps is the ability to compare different printings of the same map and trying to spot the geographical advances, regresses and outright differences between them. ![]()
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