1588 Ortelius Rare Antique World Map - Typus Orbis

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This is a chance to purchase one of the oldest and rarest world maps still available to the market. It is the beautifully engraved, hand coloured original antique 2nd edition, 3rd state, World map published by Abraham Ortelius in the 1588 edition of Theatrum Orbis Terrarum.
There were three different editions of World maps published by Ortelius over the lifetime of  the atlas Theatrum Orbis Terrarum between 1570 & 1612.
Of the 1st edition World map there were 3250 published between 1570 & 1584 (of which 236 known loose copies still exist)
Of the second edition World map there were 500 published between 1586 & 1588 (of which 14 known loose copies still exist - within this second edition there is only 5 known copies of this third state)
Of the third Edition World map there were 3200 published between 1589 & 1612 (of which 161 known loose copies still exist)
Given these numbers this second edition, 3rd state, is by far one of the rarest known world map still in existence. (Further information on each edition and changes or different states within each is available below) 

The map is in pristine condition on heavy, stable clean paper with original colour and a heavy impression.

Map history & background.
There are three separate plates of the Ortelius World Map (Typus Orbis Terrarum) published in the Atlas Theatrum Orbis Terrarum between 1570 & 1612. During the life of the  plates variations were made to the copper-plate resulting in a new state. The changes were made in order to delete, alter or add data to the map.  

Ortelius Plate 1

 1^st plate (Ort 1) – there were 5 changes made to this plate resulting in states 1.1 through to 1.5.
A total of 3250 maps from this plate were published between 1570 & 1584. Today it is estimated that there are 236 loose copies in circulation of all 5 states.
 

Ortelius Plate 2

2nd plate (Ort 2)  - there were 3 changes made to this plate resulting in states 2.1 through to 2.3.
A total of 500 maps from this plate were published between 1586 & 1588. Today it is estimated that there are 14 loose copies in circulation of all 3 states.
 

Ortelius Plate 3

 3rd plate (Ort 3) – there were 2 changes made to this plate resulting in states 3.1 through to 3.2.
A total of 3200 maps from this plate were published between 1589 & 1612. Today it is estimated that there are 161 loose copies in circulation of both states. 

Ortelius' world map is a simplified one-sheet reduction of Mercator's large world map which had appeared the world before. Nearly all the legends, textual panels and decorative features, have been omitted; between the oval circumference of the map and the outer frame are now clouds, and, below, a quotation from Cicero. From surviving correspondence, it is known that Mercator generously encouraged Ortelius to make use of his published corpus of research; he also provided him with coordinates of places in America and perhaps elsewhere. South America retains the unusual bulged south-west coast drawn by Mercator. There is also a prudent comment adjacent to New Guinea querying whether this large island is part of the southern continent or not.
The original plate, like a number of others in the Atlas, were signed by the engraver Franciscus (Frans) Hogenberg and was used for the first sixteen editions of the Theatrum.
In nearly all places there is text on the reverse of the map in the language indicated but a few copies are known which lack reverse text. Between 1575 and 1579 the plate became cracked along the lower left hand corner. The crack was roughly mended and the whole border of the clouds substantially reworked; editions from 1579 to 1584 contain this revised state 2 of plate 1. Ortelius subsequently produced two further world maps, each slightly improved geographically.
Several of these states co-existed; for instance although plate 3 carries the date 1587, it does not seem to have been issued until 1592. Only one example has been sighted of the first state plate 2 of 1586. State 3 of plate 2 is also uncommon but it re-appears in the British Library's copy of the Dutch 1598 edition of the Theatrum which, as noted by Koeman, was often made up of earlier stock sheets.
Ortelius' map was copied widely, and derivatives were later used to illustrate works by Voisin, Broughton, Maffei, Bell-Forest, Petri, Hakluyt and others.
Cartographical sources: Gerard Mercator's 1569 & Gastaldi's 1561 world map and Diego Gutierrez' portolan map of the Atlantic.
Next to the list at the bottom of the text, Ortelius mentions in his Catalogus Auctorum the world maps by Peter ab Aggere from Mechelen, Sebastian Cabotus from Venice, Laurentius Fries from Antwerp, Jacobus Gastaldi, Gemma Frisius from Antwerp, Guicciardinus from Antwerp, Doco ab Hemminga Frisius, and Orontius Finæus from Paris.

Background of Theatrum Orbis Terrarum
For the first time, in 1570, all the elements of the modern Atlas were brought to publication  in Abraham Ortelius' Theatrum Orbis Terrarum. This substantial undertaking assembled fifty-three of the best available maps of the world by the most renowned and up to date geographers.
Unlike earlier compositions, such as the Italian composite or "Lafreri" Atlases, each of Ortelius' maps was engraved specifically for his Atlas according to uniform format. Through its launching, pre-eminence in map publishing was transferred from Italy to the Netherlands, leading to over a hundred years of Dutch supremacy in all facts of cartographical production.
There were a total of 7300 copies of Theatrum  published between 1570 - 1612 from 31 editions. 

Historical sales data 
Sale records for this map - for all 3 editions - total 91 from 1983 to 2007. From the 1st edition there are 40 known sales, from the 2^nd edition there are 3 known sales leaving 48 sales from the third edition. The following is a further breakdown of sales data per edition.
Edition # 1 – Lowest sale year is 1988 with 2 sales at an average of $2162US. The highest sale year is 2005 with 2 sales at an average of $10,137US. This is a 468% increase over 17 years with an average annual increase of 10%.
Edition # 2 - Lowest avg sale year is 1983 with 1 sale at $1850US. The highest sale year was 2007 with 1 sale at $18,000US. This is a 972% increase over 22 years with an average annual increase of 11.5%.
Edition # 3 - Lowest avg sales year is 1986 with 1 sale at $1957US. The second highest sale year was 2005 with 5 sales at an average of $8,189US. This is a 418% increase over 19 years with an average annual increase of 8.25%.
(Please note the condition of these maps is largely unknown, condition is a major contributing factor to value).
I believe the value of the second edition is greatly underestimated due mainly to the limited number of past sales, the lack of avaialbity and also to the lack of public awareness of the avaiablity of such a rare map to the general public when one becomes avaialble for sale. I have had this map in my personal collection for a number of years and believe that there is now enough awareness within the collectiong public for it to achieve its true value.
(Ref: Van Den Broecke; Tooley; Shirley; Rosenthal)

Please note all items auctioned are genuine, we do not sell reproductions. A Certificate of Authenticity (COA) can be issued on request.

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A turning-point in his career was reached in 1564 with the publication of a World Map in eight sheets of which only one copy is known: other individual maps followed and then - at the suggestion of a friend - he gathered together a collection of maps from contacts among European cartographers and had them engraved in uniform size and issued in 1570 as the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (Atlas of the Whole World). Although Lafreri and others in Italy had published collections of 'modern' maps in book form in earlier years, the Theatrum was the first uniformly sized, systematic collection of maps and hence can be called the first atlas, although that term itself was not used until twenty years later by Mercator.

The Theatrum, with most of its maps elegantly engraved by Frans Hogenberg, was an instant success and appeared in numerous editions in different languages including addenda issued from time to time incorporating the latest contemporary knowledge and discoveries. The final edition appeared in 1612. Unlike many of his contemporaries Ortelius noted his sources of information and in the first edition acknowledgement was made to eighty-seven different cartographers.

Apart from the modern maps in his major atlas, Ortelius himself compiled a series of historical maps known as the Parergon Theatri which appeared from 1579 onwards, sometimes as a separate publication and sometimes incorporated in the Theatrum

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