Shirley, cites only one example of this map, possibly this one.  Another, uncoloured, is housed at the Library of Congress. Sotheby’s sold an example in 1992.



The ‘Theatrum’ included this world map, the first of its kind to appear in an atlas. Over the years, many printings, and new information, required the replacement of the copperplate used to print the map. Three plates were used in all. The first featured a border of clouds running around the oval world map and was signed by the engraver Franciscus (Frans) Hogenberg. A second plate appeared in 1586, in which the most obvious transformation is the corrected South American coastline, without the characteristic bulge of the first plate. The third, and last plate, is easily distinguished by the presence of four medallions, one in each corner, each bearing Stoic quotes from Cicero and Seneca. The border of clouds has been replaced by a more formal Mannerist strapwork pattern, with floral swags. This plate was used for all the final editions of Ortelius’s atlas, during his lifetime and beyond, from 1587, until the very last ‘Theatrum’, in 1612.

On this issue of the map, the engraving in the border has been “darkened” with additional cross-hatching, and the geography of the map has been updated to include the appearance of the Solomon Islands, and the addition of Jacob Le Maire’s Strait at the tip of South 

 (1527–1598) was a Brabantian cartographer, geographer, and cosmographer. He is recognized as the creator of the first modern atlas in 1570, the ‘Theatrum Orbis Terrarum’ (‘Theatre of the World’). Along with Gemma Frisius and 

, Ortelius is generally considered one of the founders of the Netherlandish school of cartography and an important geographer of Spain during the age of European exploration. The publication of his atlas in 1570 is often considered as the official beginning of the Golden Age of Netherlandish cartography.

In 1564 Ortelius published his first map, ‘Typus Orbis Terrarum’, an eight-sheet wall map of the world, on which he identified the northward extension of Terra Australis, reaching as far as New Guinea. He also published a two-sheet map of Egypt in 1565, a plan of the Brittenburg castle on the coast of the Netherlands in 1568, an eight-sheet map of Asia in 1567, and a six-sheet map of Spain before the appearance of his atlas.

In England, Ortelius' contacts included William Camden, Richard Hakluyt, Thomas Penny, Puritan controversialist William Charke, and Humphrey Llwyd, who would contribute the map of England and Wales to Ortelius's 1573 edition of the ‘Theatrum’. In 1578, he laid the basis of a critical treatment of ancient geography by his ‘Synonymia Geographica’. In 1596, he received a presentation from Antwerp, similar to that afterwards bestowed on Peter Paul Rubens. His death on 28 June 1598 and his burial in the church of Saint Michael's Abbey, Antwerp, were marked by public mourning. 

 is recognized as the creator of the first modern atlas, the ‘Theatrum Orbis Terrarum’ first published in 1570. 

A superb example of the exceptionally rare separately issued very last edition of Ortelius’ world map, amended to incorporate new information about the Solomon Islands and Jacob Le Maire’s Strait.

In 1615, Jacob Le Maire and Captain Willem Schouten set out to challenge the VOC monopoly on passage through the Magellan Strait, by attempting to discover an alternate entrance into the Pacific. They sailed south around the Tierra del Fuego, ignoring the century-old assumption that it was part of Terra Australis. They successfully crossed the Pacific, but when they reached Batavia, in Java, the local Dutch officials, loyal to the VOC, imprisoned them for their impertinence. Le Maire was sent back to Holland in chains and died en route. 

A superb example of the exceptionally rare separately issued very last edition of Ortelius’ world map, amended to incorporate new information about the Solomon Islands and Le Maire’s Strait.

Double-page engraved copperplate map, on an oval projection, with contemporary hand-colour in full, no text on verso.

The 'Unknown' Ortelius World Map