Description
Famous c.16th map of Africa by Abraham Ortelius from his ground breaking atlas, Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, which was widely regarded as the first modern atlas for having all the maps in a similar size and format.
Ortelius was also the first to separate the ancient and recent geographic knowledge when compiling his maps and indicating the changes from the old nomeclature to the new. Unlike many of his contemporaries Ortelius often listed the sources of his information. The engraving of all the copper plates was done by Frans Hogenberg (1539-1590).
The map is superbly decorated with an elaborate strapwork title incorporating a pair of caryatids, at the top of which a panel has the words, The Greeks call Africa Lybia, and the seas have various marine life and a raging sea battle in the lower right corner. Ortelius based this map on three maps by the most important cartographers of the sixteenth century: Gastaldi’ 1564 separately-issued eight-sheet map, Forlani’ 1566 map and Mercator’ 1569 world map. Many of the names of coastal towns and other landmarks featured on Gastaldi’ map are Portuguese and Arab, reflecting their dominant position in the Indian Ocean in the sixteenth century. The Portuguese had dispelled Ptolemy’ concept of a landlocked Indian Ocean by sailing round the Cape in 1497. This allowed them to sail onto India via the African east coast, effectively bypassing the Arab-controlled spice route of the Red Sea, thereby altering the international balance of power. While early maps depicted a fairly accurate African coastline, most of inner Africa would remain unexplored until the nineteenth century. As a result, early maps of Africa were often influenced by myth and other fanciful concepts, leading Jonathan Swift to state ‘ geographers, in Africa maps, With savage pictures fill their gaps, And o’ uninhabitable downs Place elephants for want of towns’. This map remained the standard map of the continent for the remainder of the sixteenth century.
This edition is identified as being from the 1575 Latin edition, by the following:
Latin text on the verso, small page number 4 (7 mm), similar, 9th text line from the top ends: Atlanticum ver ; last line, centred like 4 lines above it: Rhamusij,&Hieronymi Fracastorij.
Collections:
National Library Australia: Call Number MAP NK 10001
State Library New South Wales: Record Identifier 74Vv8PVPNxMl (1570? shows crack at left which appeared in 1575)
Library of Congress Washington D.C.: 2017585795
British Library London: D2018_000051_BL
National Maritime Museum Greenwich: ID: PBD7640(1)
