![]() The Theatrum included a list of sources to provide readers with a historical context for the maps. ![]() In an era when citing references were the exception rather than the rule, Ortelius was one of the best bibliographers of early cartography. Therefore, it was an encyclopedic description of the world and a milestone in cartographic history. Ortelius departed from the Italian model and created a compilation of maps and narratives that were presented logically to represent the world, continents, regions and nations. Although Lafreri and others in Italy had published collections of ‘modern’ maps in book form in earlier years, the maps had not been specifically engraved for the project and the books were assembled to suit the needs of the individual customer. This book gathered together for the first time a collection of uniformly sized maps and related text bound to form a book. Ortelius’s Theatrum (as it is often called) is considered the first true atlas, although Mercator coined the term atlas twenty years later. It was not however, until the publication of the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (Theatre of the World) in 1570 that Ortelius’ place in history was assured. Between 15 he produced several of his own maps including a large map of the world on eight sheets. In the course of his business, he traveled throughout Europe and established important contacts with cartographers and other literati. Born in Antwerp where he was educated in the classics and mathematics, he began his career in cartography as an illuminator or ‘painter of maps’ and opened a bookstore in partnership with his sister. Abraham Ortelius (1527 – 1598) is regarded as one of the most prominent cartographers of the sixteenth century. ![]()
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