Maris Pacifici, (quod vulgo Mar del Zur)

Antwerp, 1590. No Binding. Very Good. Original and later color; some very slight restoration at margin, else excellent condition "One of the most important maps that appeared in the Ortelius atlases ..." (Burden). With its two splendid cartouches and a well-detailed illustration of Magellan's flagship, the Victoria, this is also one of the most beautifully engraved of Ortelius' maps. "Being one of Ortelius' most desirable maps combined with the fact that it was not issued in the atlas until 1590, it is not as available as the various versions of his map of America" (Burden). The map provided some of the best mapping of the West Coast of North America before the shroud of the California-as-an-island myth descended. Wagner says that the map's delineation of this area "constitutes a distinct departure; being unlike any other map . . . published before 1589." Thus, it has been surmised that this and other parts of the map were based on an unknown voyage. Burden 74; Koeman, I.C. Atlantes Neerlandici, III, p. 62; Wagner, H. Cartography of the Northwest Coast, p. 74, no. 156; van den Broecke 12.