A detailed attractive map of the Anjou region on the Loire River in France published by Abraham Ortelius in the ‘Theatrum Orbis Terrarum’. First published in 1579, this example is from the German edition issued the following year. This is in the first state of three. The map was derived from a lost map published in Paris by Lezin Guyet in 1573. Abraham Ortelius (1527-98) developed an interest in cartography, geography, and history at an early age. He began as a ‘kaarten afzetter’ (or illuminator of maps) and would purchase single maps from booksellers and colour them for re-sale, mounted on linen suitable for wall-hanging. At twenty he was entered in the Guild of St Luke at Antwerp. Ortelius travelled extensively in Europe, and maintained regular correspondence with mapmakers, historians and scientists, acquiring information which was to form his greatest opus, the ‘Theatrum Orbis Terrarum’. What made the atlas stand out as the first modern atlas was its uniformity. They were produced in a similar style and none of the ancient Ptolemaic maps were included. The atlas was accompanied a catalogue of the authors whose source Ortelius had drawn upon in compiling the work. Without this list many cartographers of the day would remain unknown to us today.

From its first appearance in 1570, the ‘Theatrum’ was far more comprehensive in scope than any contemporary work. In all, over forty different editions were published, with text in Latin, Dutch, German, French, Spanish, English or Italian, with the maps being frequently revised or replaced. By 1612, when the final edition was published, the atlas contained no less than 128 maps. Van den Broecke (1996) 40.