Abraham Ortelius, c.1608

ORTELIUS, Abraham (1527-1598). Americae sive novi orbis, nova descriptio. [Antwerp:] 1587 [but 1608 or 1612].

One of the most famous early maps of the Americas. "Functional as well as decorative ... [it] was widely sold throughout Europe and had a great influence on the future cartography of the New World" (Burden). This is the third edition, printed from the 1587 copper plate, and distinguished by the removal of the bulge on the southwestern coast of South America. The Strait of Magellan, entered by the Portuguese navigator on 1 November 1520, is shown, but Tierra del Fuego is made part of the large southern continent. Italian text on the verso. Burden 39.

Double-page engraved map with contemporary hand-color, 417 x 530 mm sheet size (some oxidation and fragility to greens, browning, margins chipped/creased, reinforcements on verso to edges and area of bottom touching one line of text).