Siciliae Veteris Typus
| Reference: | S38534 |
| Author | Abraham ORTELIUS |
| Year: | 1584 ca. |
| Zone: | Sicily |
| Printed: | Antwerpen |
| Measures: | 490 x 375 mm |
€1,000.00
| Reference: | S38534 |
| Author | Abraham ORTELIUS |
| Year: | 1584 ca. |
| Zone: | Sicily |
| Printed: | Antwerpen |
| Measures: | 490 x 375 mm |
€1,000.00
Description
Splendid historical map of the ancient Sicily published in Abraham Ortelius' Parergon.
Example from the Latin edition of Theatrum Orbis Terrarum printed in Antwerp by Jean Baptiste Vrients in 1603. A fifth state of six of the map according Van den Broecke.
Title: SICILIAE | VETERIS | TYPVS. | "Ex conatibus geographicis A. Ortelij." [Map of Ancient Sicily from the geographical efforts of Abraham Ortelius]. Top left centre: "Cum priuilegio decennali Imp. | Reg. & cancellariæ Braban:|tiæ 1584". [With an Imperial, Royal and Council of Brabant Privilege for ten years. 1584.] Bottom left corner: "Veteris Siciliæ loca, incertæ aut pror:|sus incognitæ positionis" [Places on Ancient Sicily of uncertain or formerly unknown location], followed by a 7-column list). (Inset: 110 x 100 mm:) "Territorij Syrcusani loca, in:|certæ positionis: Acrillæ, Echetla, Magel:|la".
Made by Ortelius, based on Giacomo Gastaldi's 1545 map of Sicily (Meurer p. 96, Karrow p. 218), supplemented by classical sources, viz. Plinius, Strabo, Dionysus and Hesiodus.
The Parergon is the first historical atlas ever published. It was initially conceived by Ortelius as an appendix to his Theatrum Orbis Terrarum but given the considerable success of these historical maps it later became an independent work and remained the main source of all similar works throughout the seventeenth century.
Koeman wrote: “This atlas of ancient geography must be regarded as a personal work of Ortelius. For this work he did not, as in the Theatrum, copy other people's maps but drew the originals himself... He took many places and regions from the lands of classical civilization to illustrate and clarify their history, a subject very close to his heart... The maps and plates of the Parergon have to be evaluated as the most outstanding engravings depicting the wide-spread interest in classical geography in the 16th century."
The Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, which is considered the first true modern "Atlas". The work was published in 7 languages and 36 editions, for which - in 1570 - Ortelius obtained the privilege, a kind of copyright that prevented other cartographers from publishing his works. The Theatrum represented the most advanced work of cartographic description. Ortelius collected in it the geographical and cartographic knowledge of his time, proposing in 147 spectacular engraved plates the most faithful image of the world then known and, in some extraordinary "historical maps", regions and routes taken from literature, mythology, tradition.
“La carta della Sicilia antica compare per la prima volta nel Parergon di Abraham Ortelius, una sorta di atlante storico del mondo conosciuto dagli antichi, nel 1584. A differenza del Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, per il quale Ortelius utilizzò materiale di altri autori, il Parergon è opera assolutamente originale, da lui ideata e composta; le mappe furono incise da Ian Wierix (1552-1624c.) su disegni di Ortelius. La carta è disegnata sulla scorta della Sicilia di Gastaldi, già da Ortelius adoperata per la carta della Sicilia moderna con l'integrazione di fonti letterarie antiche in parte dichiarate nel testo di accompagnamento da egli stesso redatto.
Venne pubblicata, in quasi tutte le edizioni successive del Theatrum, subendo poche variazioni. Se ne conoscono sei stati. La prima variazione del rame risale già alla seconda edizione del 1587 e consiste nella aggiunta del toponimo Cyane fons, in un lago vicino Siracusa. Tra il 1587 e il 1592 viene aggiunto Alba flu, nel centro in basso. Tra il 1592 e il 1595 furono cancellate le cinque linee di testo posto sopra le isole Egadi, sostituite da un puntinato. Tra il 1595 e il 1601 fu aggiunto un punti- nato al di sotto delle scritte sul mare. Nell'edizione del 1624 il nome philippi, nell'angolo in basso a sinistra è scritto Philippi.
Ortelius è il primo che fa coincidere l'isola di Osteodes (isola dei morti o dei beati) con Paconìa, mentre Mercatore ne aveva individuate due distinte. L'isola di Paconìa coincide con quella chiamata Lipocelli da Gastaldi e che si ritrova su tutte le carte di derivazione gastaldina. In un riquadro (110x96) in alto a sinistra: "Territorij Syracusani loca, incertae positionis: Acrillae, Echerla, Magella".
La carta fu ricopiata da Hondius nel 1619, incisa da Goos, e inserita nella Geographia Veteris di Bertius e successivamente nelle varie edizioni di Janssonius. Un'ulteriore copia, molto fedele, fu eseguita nel 1696 dall'incisore Recurti per la Tipografia del Seminario Vescovile di Padova.
Della carta risultano stampati circa 5540 esemplari.” (Valerio-Spagnolo "Sicilia 1477-1861", p. 180).
Example with magnificent contemporary coloring, paper slightly browned, otherwise in excellent condition.
Bibliografia:
Cfr. L. Bagrow, A. Ortelli Catalogus Cartographorum; cfr. C. Koeman, Atlantes Neerlandici; Peter H. Meurer, Fontes Cartographici Orteliani 10p; M. Van den Broecke, Ortelius Atlas Maps, n. 211 V/VI; Van der Krogt, Koeman’s Atantes Neerlandici: 7510H:31; L. Dufour - A. La Gumina, "Imago Siciliae", p. 90; Valerio-Spagnolo "Sicilia 1477-1861", pp. 180-182, n. 50.
Abraham ORTELIUS (1528 - 1598)
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Abraham Ortel, better known as Ortelius, was born in Antwerp and after studying Greek, Latin and mathematics set up his business there with his sister, as a book dealer and 'painter of maps'. Travelling widely, especially to the great book fairs, his business prospered and he established contacts with many sultured men in many lands. On one such visit to England, possibly seeking temporary refuge from religious persecution, he met William Camden whom he is said to have encouraged in the production of the Britannia.
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.
1570 Theatrum Orbis Terrarum 1570-1612 Between these years the Theatrum was re-issued in 42 editions with 5 supplements with text in Latin, Dutch, German, French, Spanish, Italian and English. The English edition was published in 1606 by John Norton, the maps being printed in Antwerp and the text added in London. Three years later Ortelius died in 1598, his heirs transferred publication rights to Jan Baptiste Vrients who produced the posthumous editions until he died in 1612
1577-85 Spiegel der Werelt (8vo) Maps from the Theatrum, reduced in size, engraved by Philip Galle: text by Pieter Heyns. 6 editions with Dutch, French and Latin text. 1588-i 603 Epitome theatri orbis terrarum (12mo/8v0) 11 further editions of the smaller maps with an increasing number of maps with text also in Italian and English (1603). i6oi-i 2 7 further editions with improved engravings by Arsenius Brothers: text by Michel Coignet in Latin, French, German, Italian and English (1603). 1598-1724 Theatro del Mondo (4t0/12mo/24mo) 8 editions with Italian text; plates engraved in Italy.
1579-1606 Parergon Theatri The number of maps included in the Parergon increased from 4 in 1579 to 43 in 1606 with text in Latin, French, Italian, German and English (1606) 1624 Re-issued in Antwerp as a separate publication by Balthasar Moretus. This edition included a reproduction of the Peutinger table.
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Abraham ORTELIUS (1528 - 1598)
|
Abraham Ortel, better known as Ortelius, was born in Antwerp and after studying Greek, Latin and mathematics set up his business there with his sister, as a book dealer and 'painter of maps'. Travelling widely, especially to the great book fairs, his business prospered and he established contacts with many sultured men in many lands. On one such visit to England, possibly seeking temporary refuge from religious persecution, he met William Camden whom he is said to have encouraged in the production of the Britannia.
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.
1570 Theatrum Orbis Terrarum 1570-1612 Between these years the Theatrum was re-issued in 42 editions with 5 supplements with text in Latin, Dutch, German, French, Spanish, Italian and English. The English edition was published in 1606 by John Norton, the maps being printed in Antwerp and the text added in London. Three years later Ortelius died in 1598, his heirs transferred publication rights to Jan Baptiste Vrients who produced the posthumous editions until he died in 1612
1577-85 Spiegel der Werelt (8vo) Maps from the Theatrum, reduced in size, engraved by Philip Galle: text by Pieter Heyns. 6 editions with Dutch, French and Latin text. 1588-i 603 Epitome theatri orbis terrarum (12mo/8v0) 11 further editions of the smaller maps with an increasing number of maps with text also in Italian and English (1603). i6oi-i 2 7 further editions with improved engravings by Arsenius Brothers: text by Michel Coignet in Latin, French, German, Italian and English (1603). 1598-1724 Theatro del Mondo (4t0/12mo/24mo) 8 editions with Italian text; plates engraved in Italy.
1579-1606 Parergon Theatri The number of maps included in the Parergon increased from 4 in 1579 to 43 in 1606 with text in Latin, French, Italian, German and English (1606) 1624 Re-issued in Antwerp as a separate publication by Balthasar Moretus. This edition included a reproduction of the Peutinger table.
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