Catalog Archive
Auction 153, Lot 591

"Insularum Aliquot Maris Mediterranei Descriptio", Ortelius, Abraham

Subject: Mediterranean Islands

Period: 1579 (published)

Publication: Theatrum Orbis Terrarum

Color: Hand Color

Size:
18.8 x 14.3 inches
47.8 x 36.3 cm
Download High Resolution Image
(or just click on image to launch the Zoom viewer)

This is the first state of this splendid composite of six maps of the major islands in the Mediterranean: Sardinia, Sicily, Corfu, Djerba, Elba, and Malta. Each map is beautifully engraved and embellished with a variety of ships including a sinking ship off the coast of Malta where Saint Paul was supposed to have shipwrecked. Latin text on verso.

References: Van den Broecke #141.

Condition: B

Original color with moderate toning and color offsetting with a 2.5" centerfold separation at bottom that has been closed on verso with archival material. Adjacent to the separation are a few additional cracks that have been closed on verso with old paper.

Estimate: $600 - $750

Unsold

Closed on 5/20/2015

Archived