Ortelius, Atlas of the World & Parergon, Latin 1584
ORTELIUS, Abraham (1527-1598).
Theatrum Orbis Terrarum. - Parergon in quo Veteris Geographiae aliquot tabulae. - Nomenclator Ptolemaicus.
Antwerp : Christopher Plantin, 1584.
Comparable: Galerie Bassenge, 2017 - EUR 190,650.
Folio (18 x 12 1/4 in.; 45.7 x 31.1 cm). Engraved architectural title-page, “Parergon” with engraved vignette title with woodcut surround, “Nomenclator” title-page with large Plantin device, engraved portrait of Ortelius by Phillip Galle, and 112 engraved double-page maps, including the world map (in Shirley’s second state), ALL WITH FINE CONTEMPORARY HAND COLORING; mounted on guards, preliminaries with edges expertly repaired, portions of margins renewed not affecting text or image, some light browning, repair to bottom margin tear of map 20 (France), scattered spotting to map 29 (Germania), maps 90 (Scandia), 94 (India) and 96 (Turcicum) stained. 17th–century crimson morocco, front cover with gilt supralibros of Louis II, duc de Bourbon-Vendome (1612–1669), full modern morocco antique; upper cover scratched, endpapers renewed.
A TALL AND ATTRACTIVE COPY. Ortelius’s masterstroke with the Theatrum was to provide in a single volume accurate modern maps in a uniform, regularized format, together with explanatory text. It was the most expensive book of its day, and yet also one of the bestsellers, going into 37 editions in 7 languages. This is the third edition with Latin text, published by Plantin, who took over publication of Ortelius’s landmark atlas in 1579. “Plantin printed slightly fewer than 800 copies of this edition” (Van der Krogt). It consists of the Theatrum (100 maps), the Parergon (the atlas of ancient geography with 12 maps) and the Nomenclator. The maps and plates in the Parergon may be considered as the most outstanding engravings depicting the widespread interest in classical geography during the 16th century.
REFERENCES: Koeman Ort 21, IIIA 31:031; Shirley 122
PROVENANCE: Louis II, duc de Bourbon-Vendome (gilt supralibros on front cover)
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ORTELIUS, Abraham (1527-1598).
Theatrum Orbis Terrarum. - Parergon in quo Veteris Geographiae aliquot tabulae. - Nomenclator Ptolemaicus.
Antwerp : Christopher Plantin, 1584.
Comparable: Galerie Bassenge, 2017 - EUR 190,650.
Folio (18 x 12 1/4 in.; 45.7 x 31.1 cm). Engraved architectural title-page, “Parergon” with engraved vignette title with woodcut surround, “Nomenclator” title-page with large Plantin device, engraved portrait of Ortelius by Phillip Galle, and 112 engraved double-page maps, including the world map (in Shirley’s second state), ALL WITH FINE CONTEMPORARY HAND COLORING; mounted on guards, preliminaries with edges expertly repaired, portions of margins renewed not affecting text or image, some light browning, repair to bottom margin tear of map 20 (France), scattered spotting to map 29 (Germania), maps 90 (Scandia), 94 (India) and 96 (Turcicum) stained. 17th–century crimson morocco, front cover with gilt supralibros of Louis II, duc de Bourbon-Vendome (1612–1669), full modern morocco antique; upper cover scratched, endpapers renewed.
A TALL AND ATTRACTIVE COPY. Ortelius’s masterstroke with the Theatrum was to provide in a single volume accurate modern maps in a uniform, regularized format, together with explanatory text. It was the most expensive book of its day, and yet also one of the bestsellers, going into 37 editions in 7 languages. This is the third edition with Latin text, published by Plantin, who took over publication of Ortelius’s landmark atlas in 1579. “Plantin printed slightly fewer than 800 copies of this edition” (Van der Krogt). It consists of the Theatrum (100 maps), the Parergon (the atlas of ancient geography with 12 maps) and the Nomenclator. The maps and plates in the Parergon may be considered as the most outstanding engravings depicting the widespread interest in classical geography during the 16th century.
REFERENCES: Koeman Ort 21, IIIA 31:031; Shirley 122
PROVENANCE: Louis II, duc de Bourbon-Vendome (gilt supralibros on front cover)
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