One of Ortelius' Most Decorative Maps in Full Contemporary Color

"Islandia", Ortelius, Abraham

This is one of the most spectacular of all decorative maps, filling the Icelandic seas with a Boschian array of sea monsters. A lettered key on the verso gives descriptions of the creatures. Some of the beasts can be linked to a real sea creature, particularly whales and walruses, while others are wholly fantastic, such as the aquatic hyena (D) and seagoing cow (K). A Latin note near the coast explains a group of foxes holding each others tails suspended down a cliff as follows: Sly little foxes reaching for bird's nests to rob. The upper right corner accurately depicts polar bears gamboling and fighting on ice flows, while below them an expanse of driftwood makes its way to the northern coast. Driftwood was and still is an important natural resource in coastal Iceland after it floats down from Siberia. Ambergris is noted as well (O), with the description on the verso linking it to sperm whales. The interior of the island shows its mountainous topography, including Mt. Hekla in all its volcanic fury, spewing flames and rocks. Ortelius attributed the cartography to Andres Sorensen Vedel, a Danish historian, who acquired the information from a now lost map by Bishop Gudbrandur Thorlaksson. The map was published in the 1595 Latin edition with descriptive Latin text on the verso.

References: Van den Broecke #161.

Condition: A

A fine impression with full contemporary color on paper with the crossed arrows watermark commonly found on Ortelius maps. There is light soiling in the blank margins, a small abrasion along the centerfold at the top of the island, and a centerfold separation confined to the bottom blank margin. There is as a tear in bottom blank margin that has been closed on recto with old paper. Small remnants of hinge tape on verso along edges of sheet.