Theatrum Orbis Terrarum

The book that set the pattern every later atlas followed: uniform, up-to-date maps bound in one volume with text. Ortelius published it in Antwerp in 1570 with 53 copper-engraved maps, most of them the work of Frans Hogenberg, and it grew to 167 maps in later versions. It was a commercial hit, with more than 7,300 copies printed in over 30 editions during Ortelius's lifetime, in Latin and then Dutch, French, Spanish, Italian and English. That print run means single maps survive in good numbers, and the text printed on the back, in the language of its edition, helps place a loose sheet in its printing. The world map and the Americas are the famous sheets; regional maps of the Low Countries or Italy show the same fine engraving.