Ortelius Atlas Maps

With an introduction by Leon Voet, and with 20 contributions by Günter Schilder, Rodney Shirley, Dennis Reinhartz, H.A.M. van der Heijden, Marijke Spies and others.

Frans Koks discusses various editions of the "Theatrum Orbis Terrarum," an atlas created by Flemish cartographer Abraham Oertel, also known as Ortelius, (1527-1598). The "Theatrum" was originally published in 1570 and is considered to be the first modern atlas. The information is provided online by the Geography and Maps Division of the U.S. Library of Congress, as part of the American Memory resource.

An illustrated history of maps and mapmaking, including reproductions of 200 antique maps.

The sea monsters on medieval and Renaissance maps, whether swimming vigorously, gamboling amid the waves, attacking ships, or simply displaying themselves for our appreciation, are one of the most visually engaging elements on these maps, and yet they have never been carefully studied. The subject is important not only in the history of cartography, art, and zoological illustration, but also in the history of the geography of the "marvelous" and of western conceptions of the ocean. Moreover, the sea monsters depicted on maps can supply important insights into the sources, influences, and methods of the cartographers who drew or painted them. In this highly-illustrated book the author analyzes the most important examples of sea monsters on medieval and Renaissance maps produced in Europe, beginning with the earliest mappaemundi on which they appear in the 10th century and continuing to the end of the 16th century.

The 'Theatrum Orbis Terrarum', made by Abraham Ortelius, is considered to be the first modern atlas. It is a collection of uniform map sheets and sustaining text bound to form a book for which copper printing plates were specifically engraved. 'The First Atlas' is an exploration of Ortelius's world by means of his maps.