Publication Title page from a 1606 edition of Theatrum Orbis TerrarumĪfricae Tabula Nova was published in Antwerp by Abraham Ortelius in 1570. Africae Tabula Nova was the first map of Africa to include accurate information from these expeditions. European expeditions to Abyssinia, the Congo River, West Africa, and the Zambezi had also yielded information about some portions of Africa's interior. īy the time Africae Tabula Nova was published in 1570, the coasts of the continent had already been well surveyed. Following the death of his father, he began trading in maps, which led him to Frankfurt and other larger cities and exposed him to the highest-quality foreign maps, which inspired him to publish an atlas of his own. After studying mathematics and the classics, he began his career as a map colorist at age 20. The creator of Africae Tabula Nova, Abraham Ortelius, was born in Antwerp in 1527. The map was also the first to include accurate information from European expeditions into portions of Africa's interior.Ĭartographic historian Wulf Bodenstein called Africae Tabula Nova "a cornerstone map that represents a significant improvement over what we have seen so far", while cartographic archivist Ben Huseman notes that the map set "a high standard for European maps of Africa" and influenced later maps of the continent well into the 17th century.īackground Painting of Abraham Ortelius by Peter Paul Rubens, 1633 Compared to earlier maps, Ortelius sharpened the shape of Southern Africa in Africae Tabula Nova, shortened the extent of North Africa from west to east, and reduced the eastward extension of Africa, in all cases better depicting reality. The atlas was printed widely in seven languages and 31 total editions between 15.Īfricae Tabula Nova is largely based on a wall map published by Giacomo Gastaldi in 1564, while Paolo Forlani's 1562 map of Africa and Gerardus Mercator's 1569 map of the continent were also likely influences on Ortelius. It was engraved by Frans Hogenberg and included in Ortelius's 1570 atlas Theatrum Orbis Terrarum ("Theater of the World"), commonly regarded as the first modern atlas. References: Van der Krogt 3 - 1000H:31 Van den Broecke - #189 Karrow - 1/200 Van der Heijden (Europe) - p.24 Afb.Map of Africa published in 1570 Africae Tabula Nova, 1570Īfricae Tabula Nova ("New Map of Africa") is a map of Africa published by Abraham Ortelius in 1570. Over thirty editions of this Epitome were published in different languages. In 1577, engraver Philip Galle and poet-translator Pieter Heyns published the first pocket-sized edition of the Theatrum, the Epitome. The number of map sheets grew from 53 in 1570 to 167 in 1612 in the last edition. Editions were published in Dutch, German, French, Spanish, English, and Italian. Some 24 editions appeared during Ortelius's lifetime and another ten after his death in 1598. Nothing was like it until Mercator's atlas appeared twenty-five years later. The importance of the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum for geographical knowledge in the last quarter of the sixteenth century is difficult to overemphasize. The Parergon can be called a truly original work of Ortelius, who drew the maps based on his research. Later editions included Additamenta (additions), resulting in Ortelius' historical atlas, the Parergon, mostly bound together with the atlas. This first edition contained seventy maps on fifty-three sheets. It was one of the most expensive books ever published. He completed the atlas in 1569, and in May of 1570, the Theatrum was available for sale. In 1568 the production of individual maps for his atlas Theatrum Orbis Terrarum was already in full swing. In 1565 he published a map of Egypt and a map of the Holy Land, a large map of Asia followed. The inspiration for this map may well have been Gastaldi's large world map. In 1564 he published his first map, a large and ambitious world wall map. In addition, he travelled a lot and visited Italy and France, made contacts everywhere with scholars and editors, and maintained extensive correspondence with them. Luke as an "illuminator of maps." Besides colouring maps, Ortelius was a dealer in antiques, coins, maps, and books, with the book and map trade gradually becoming his primary occupation.īusiness went well because his means permitted him to start an extensive collection of medals, coins, antiques, and a library of many volumes. He learned Latin and studied Greek and mathematics.Ībraham and his sisters Anne and Elizabeth took up map colouring. The maker of the 'first atlas', the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (1570), was born on 4 April 1527 into an old Antwerp family.
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