Abraham Ortelius (April 2nd 1527 - June 28th 1598) is a cartographer of the Netherlands (Seventeen Provinces).

Ortelius is, with Gerardus Mercator, the large founder of the Flemish Cartographie.

After having studied the Greek , the Latin and the Mathematical , it is established with Antwerp, the large port of the Seventeen Provinces, as a bookseller and a cartographer. He travelled much and published in 1564 a chart of the World in 8 sheets, which was a great success. Its way of working was appreciably different from its rival and friendly Mercator: Ortelius gathered charts resulting from professional or friendly contacts among the European cartographers.

Twenty-five years before the Atlas of Mercator, it made engrave by Franz Hogenberg her collection of charts on the same scale (1570), which was published under the title of Theatrum Orbis Terrarum and constitutes in fact the first “atlas”. The work was published in the editor Gilles Coppens de Diet in Antwerp During the first ten years following the publication, he knew four reprintings. On the whole, the Theatrum was published in seven languages during thirty-six editions. Ortelius was the first to quote its sources by chart, mentioning the names of the cartographers at the origin of information charted.

Ortelius published also several historical charts, of which some also formed part of the Theatrum . Between 1579 and 1606 was published its Parergon Theatri , in particular containing a reproduction of the Table of Peutinger.

In 1570 Ortelius obtained the monopoly for the “atlases”, which prevented in particular Gerald de Jode (which had published the chart of the world of 1564) from publishing its own atlas before 1578.

Map of the world of Ortelius:

Works

• Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (1570), Gillis Coppens van Dienst, Antwerp
• Parergon and Nomenclator Ptolemaicus (1579), impr. Christophe Plantin, Antwerp
• Itinerarium per nonnullas Galliæ Belgicæ leave (1584), impr. Christophe Plantin, Antwerp
• Synonymia Geographica (1596)

See too

Internal bonds

• Cartography

External bonds