Caletensium et Bononiensium Ditionis Accurata Delinatio.
1579 (dated 1558) 14 x 10 in (35.56 x 25.4 cm)
1 : 200000
This is a rare 1579 Abraham Ortelius map of the French department of Pas-de-Calais. It covers the French and Belgian coastline from Estables to Calais. This area is known for producing Maroilles, a soft cheese made from cow's milk and with a washed rind. Cartographically based upon a four sheet map issued by Nicholas de Nicolay in 1558, it features a decorative title cartouche in the lower left quadrant. Shows the region in wonderful detail with attention to forests, cities, rivers, villages and other topographical features. Published in Antwerp by A. Ortelius in 1579 for issue in his seminal atlas Theatrum Orbis Terrarum.
Abraham Ortelius (1527 - 1598) was one of the most important figures in the history of cartography and is most famously credited with the compilation of the seminal 1570 atlas Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, generally considered to be the world's first modern atlas. Ortelius was born in Antwerp and began his cartographic career in 1547 as a typesetter for the Antwerp Guild of St. Luke. In this role Ortelius traveled extensively through Europe where he came into contact with Mercator, under whose influence, he marketed himself as a "scientific geographer". In this course of his long career he published numerous important maps as well as issued several updated editions of his cardinal work, the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum. Late in his career Ortelius was appointed Royal Cartographer to King Phillip II of Spain. On his death in July fourth, 1598, Ortelius' body was buried in St Michael's Præmonstratensian Abbey , Antwerp, where his tombstone reads, Quietis cultor sine lite, uxore, prole.
Ortelius A., Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, (Antwerp) 1579.
Very good. Minor overall toning. Text on verso. This map was originally part of a larger sheet on which several maps were printed, consequently the map's printing and plate mark extend off the right hand side of the page.
Van den Broecke, Marcel P.R., Ortelius Atlas Maps: An Illustrated Guide, 45. Koeman, Cornelis, Atlantes Neerlandici. Bibliography of Terrestrial, Maritime and Celestial Atlases and Pilot Books, Published in the Netherlands up to 1880, vol III, Ortelius 21.