The "short-lived" (-Burden) second map of
America from the Theatrum, and first printed by Plantin

Abraham Ortelius. Antwerp, 1579.
Americae Sive Novi Orbis, Nova Descriptio. 14 x 19.5 inches. Full original color. Excellent.

$8500.

An example of the uncommon re-engraved plate of Ortelius' first model for his map of America.

The atlas from which the map comes, the Theatrum, is the first atlas in the modern sense of the word, i.e., the first methodically arranged and uniformly produced set of maps of the world based strictly on current (rather than Classical) sources.

The map delineates the hemisphere in a fashion generally following the landmark map made by Gerhard Mercator in 1569. The Gulf of Mexico and Southeast are well-formed, though the Northeast veers sharply to the east, rather than to the northeast. South America bears a large bulge in the southwest, an error which Ortelius derived from Mercator, and which many would in turn copy from Ortelius.