Theatrum orbis terrarum
Abraham Ortelius's Theatrum orbis terrarum, printed by Gilles Coppens van Diest in Antwerp in 1570, was the first uniform atlas of engraved world and regional maps, sold to merchants, scholars and courts. The hand-coloured copperplate sheets carry molehill mountains, stippled coasts, tiny walled-town clusters, sea monsters, strapwork cartouches and dense engraved place-names usable as texture, borders or map ornament.
