"Europae", Ortelius, Abraham

This handsome map was based on Gerard Mercator's 1554 map of Europe and incorporates Magnus' information on Scandinavia and Jenkinson's map for Russia. The map extends to include Iceland and part of Greenland, and there is a tiny bit of Labrador intruding into the map at upper left. It also extends into western Asia and Northern Africa based on Gastaldi's cartography. Finely engraved with a stippled sea and modestly adorned with a sailing ship, compass rose, and a tent encampment in Russia. The personification of Europa being abducted by Zeus in the form a bull graces the title cartouche. This is Ortelius' second map of Europe, which replaced the original copper plate in 1584. Latin text on verso.

References: Van den Broecke #5.

Condition: B+

A sharp, early impression with full contemporary color on a sheet with the coat of arms watermark commonly found on Ortelius maps. There are a couple of tiny cracks along a soft horizontal crease that have been reinforced on verso with archival tape.