Americae Sive Novi Orbis, Nova Descriptio. First plate, second state. From Abraham Ortelius Theatrum Orbis Terrarum. Antwerp, Aegidius Coppen Diesth, 1575. 20 x 14 3/8", full hand color. Latin text on verso. Both North and South America are depicted in this beautiful map, which is the first map of the Americas to appear in a modern atlas. The publication of Theatrum Orbis Terrarum ("Theater of the World") marked a major milestone in the history of cartography, for it is the first uniform and systematic collection of maps of the whole world based only on contemporary knowledge since the days of Ptolemy. Americae Sive Novi Orbis, meanwhile, became one of the most recognized and important maps of the Americas in the 16th Century. A great influence on contemporary cartography, it could aptly be described as the Mother Map of the New World. Matted. Very Good, a very attractive map.
