Burin, 213 x 283 mm, printed on laid paper; an excellent, well-printed example. Americae Retectio is a so-called “illustrated atlas,” published in 1585 as a series of pamphlet-sized prints honoring the great 16th-century explorers of the Americas and the Pacific. The plates were drawn by Stradanus, engraved by Collaert, and originally published by Philip Galle around 1598 and again by Johannes Galle in 1638. The four engravings comprise the allegorical frontispiece and the subsequent explorations of Christopher Columbus, Amerigo Vespucci, and Ferdinand Magellan, each on the deck of his own ship and surrounded by mythological deities, sea nymphs, sirens, sea monsters, and other marvels. The frontispiece features a globe with the allegorical figures of Flora (representing Florence) and Janus (Genoa) unveiling a globe. The coat of arms of each city is depicted directly behind each of these figures. Above them are medallion portraits of Vespucci (of Florence) and Columbus (of Genoa). Magellan is alluded to by the Magellanica marker on the globe. Below the globe is Oceanus (Neptune), the "Father of Waters." At the bottom is a bird's-eye view of the Ligurian coast from Livorno to Savona. Florence is at the bottom left and Genoa at the center. At the bottom right is a dedication to Luigi and Aloisio Alamanni of Florence.Born in Bruges in 1523, Stradanus was a versatile 16th-century Mannerist artist who worked in a wide range of media and spent most of his artistic career in Florence. Three editions of Americae Retectio were published: the first and last were made from the original plates, while the second edition, published in the early 17th century, was re-engraved by Matteo Florimi and published in the Speculum in 1638. New Hollstein 342