Ortelius, A. Theatro d'Abraham Ortelio, reduced... Lot 2062

Ortelius, A.
Theatro d'Abraham Ortelio, reduced to a smaller format. In Italian. 8vo, 106 numbered pages, 3, 3 leaves. With engraved text plates and 106 full-page copperplate maps in the text. 11.5 x 15.5 cm. Contemporary parchment (stained, spine with a large restored loss and missing the fastening ribbons). Antwerp, Philippe Galle, 1593. Koemann-Krogt IIIA, 33. Denucé I, 221–260. Not listed in Phillips (cf. Phillips I, 386). Not in Graesse (cf. Graesse V, 55). Not in Brunet (cf. Brunet IV, 242). - First edition of the reduced version of "Theatrum orbis terrarum" in landscape format from the workshop of Philippe Galle. A second edition appeared in 1593. The popular pocket atlas was translated into various languages, such as Italian, Danish, and French. "He generalized 70 maps from the 'Theatrum' and reduced them to about 8 x 11 cm. Of course, the text could no longer be in Latin. It had to be in the vernacular and, to make it even more accessible, in rhyme. The rhyming text was written by Peter Heyns, who had translated the Latin text of the 'Theatrum' into Dutch in 1571" (Koemann-Krogt). The maps show, for example: "Il Mondo," "Europa," "Asia," "Africa," "Amercia," "In Grelandia," "Scotia," "Irlanda," "Tercera," "Spagna," "Portogallo," "Andalusia," "Valenza," "Cadiz," "Francia," "Gascogna," "Poittu," "Bretagna," "Normandia," "Angio," "Berri," "Limania," etc. The folio numbers are: A 8 - P 8. - Slightly finger-stained, with wormholes and wormtrails (text and illustrations unaffected), and folios 65–68 with faint, larger water stains. Overall well-preserved with very crisp and attractive plates. Rarely seen on the market.