Europæ

Book Description

Antwerp: Ortelius, [1595]. Copper-engraved map, with full original colour, Latin text on verso of one half of the sheet, in excellent condition, apart from a small expert repair to the left blank margin, and a small section of the upper blank margin torn away. 21 1/4 x 17 1/4 inches. A superb map of Europe by one of the greatest names in the history of cartography This important map of Europe derives in large part from Mercator's work; Russia from Jenkinson's map; Scandinavia from Olaus Magnus. The relatively modest cartouche shows a partially covered and apparently distraught Europa sitting on the back of Zeus in the form of a placid bull (he, the unwelcome lover of Europa), both gazing toward Europe, curious about its future. Published in a Latin edition of Ortelius' s ground-breaking atlas Theatrum Orbis Terrarum. van den Broecke, Ortelius Atlas Maps, 5

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