Among his many other works are his contributions to cartography and geography. One of the fruits of his persistent efforts as a collector of archaeological specimens or objects was his brochure: Deorum, Dearumque Capita ex veteribus numismatibus (1575), which contained some reproductions from his highly admired archaeological collection.Ībraham Ortelius is credited with being the first to observe the geometric similarity between the coasts of America and Europe-Africa, citing the theory of continental drift as the reason for this. Ortelius published his Itinerarium per nonnullas Galliæ Belgicæ partes in 1575, which contains much important information about the geography of Belgium. Even more important than the dictionary is the accompanying map catalog (Catalogus auctorum tabularum geographicarum), which contains the names and works of ninety-nine cartographers who lived before 1570. In 1587 he published the Thesaurus Geographicus, which is of great value as an encyclopedia of ancient geography. Works Image sourceīesides his work on the first modern atlas, the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, he produced maps of the world (1564) on a heart projection, Egypt (1565), and Asia (1567). It can be said that his map business was the reason for his unusually extensive travels to Germany, England, and Italy, and especially for his annual visits to the large trade fair in Leipzig. This inspired him to start his work as a compiler and publisher of maps. He traveled through Europe and sold books, prints, and maps. As a youth, he studied mathematics, Latin, and Greek and completed an apprenticeship as a map engraver, which earned him entry into the Antwerp Guild of Map Illuminators in 1557. He did not acquire much in formal education, probably as a result of his father’s death when he was still at a tender age. turies, the figures personifying the four continents on the title page to Abraham Ortelius’s Theatrum Orbis Terrarum were allegorical stand-ins, representing both a geographical place and its identifying features, symbolised by their appropriate accoutrements (fig.

EducationĪbraham Ortelius was born on April 14, 1527, in Antwerp, which then belonged to the Habsburg Netherlands, but is now part of present-day Belgium. Ortelius opened a store where he sold books and antiques, which were managed by him and his sister. As a result, he also became very close to his cousin Emanuel van Meteren, who was a Flemish historian and consul. His father had three children, including him, but died in 1535, so Abraham and his siblings were raised by his uncle Jacob van Meteren (who had previously been in exile). Ortelius belonged to an influential Catholic family in Augsburg, which was suspected of having joined the Protestant movement at the time. He was influenced by his friend Gerardus Mercator, whom he met at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 1554, and was interested in map-making, which later became, among other things, the main thing the world will remember him for.

He was a Flemish cartographer, trained engraver, and geographer. Abraham Ortelius is credited with creating the first modern atlas Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (Theater of the World) in 1570.

Abraham ortelius heritage