Copper engraving, 495 × 370 mm, hand colored. From the very rare first edition of *Theatrum Orbis Terrarum*, the first modern atlas, comprising maps of all regions of the world; Ortels’s (later Latinised) brilliant insight was precisely this: prior to this, cartographic production had been irregular and localised, and the few atlases, the so-called “Lafrerian Atlases”, were compiled on request by gathering maps of certain areas whilst ignoring others. Ortelius brought together the diverse cartographic output of the period into a single collection, laying the foundations for an enormously successful publishing venture, published from 1570 to 1612. A fine copy in pleasant colouring with minimal traces of fingerprints in the lower right-hand corner. Van den Broecke, 138.