Ortelius, Abraham
Islandia [Iceland]
£8,500
Rare Books, Manuscripts, Maps & Photographs
Auction: 13 July 2022 from 10:00 BST
Description
[Antwerp, c.1590 or later]. Hand-coloured engraved map (platemark 33.5 x 48.5cm, sheet size 43.5 x 55.5cm), incorporating sea-monsters, polar bears and Hekla volcano, title, dedication and scale each within separate strapwork cartouche, Latin text on verso, slightly toned overall, sometime tipped to old card mount at one corner only (now detached), faint central crease as usual, another faint crease across lower left-hand corner, damp-staining to lower margins, small stain within image near left-hand edge of platemark
Footnote
Note: Ortelius's path-breaking and richly imaginative map of Iceland first appeared in the 1587 French edition of the Typis orbis terrarum. It was drawn by Danish priest and historian Anders Sorenson Vedel or Velleius (1542-1616) using the work of Icelandic bishop Gudbrandur Thorlaksson (1547-1621), and dedicated by Ortelius to Frederick II of Denmark.