Subject: Caribbean and Mexico
Period: 1579 (dated)
Publication: Theatrum Orbis Terrarum
Color: Hand Color
Size:
19.8 x 14.1 inches
50.3 x 35.8 cm
Two great early maps of important regions in the New World are combined into this interesting composition. The first covers the region of western Mexico around Culiacan and the Spanish settlement of Villa S. Michael's, the region noted for its silver mines. The second is the first detailed map of the Greater Antilles with detail in southern Florida, the Bahamas, and the Caribbean that is quite remarkable for the period. Ortelius based the maps on a variety of sources including Mercator’s world map (1569) and other maps by Guttierez and Alonso De Santa Cruz. Three strapwork cartouches and sailing ships decorate the map. Latin text on verso with page number 8, published in 1603.
References: Van den Broecke #14.
Condition: B
Attractive color on watermarked paper. A printer's crease and tiny tear adjacent to centerfold has been repaired with old paper on verso. A stain and tiny tear at far left have also been reinforced on verso.