North Atlantic Map 1592 Ortelius Septentrionalium Regionum Print - Iceland, Greenland, Scandinavia, Frisland

This old color example of Abraham Ortelius's important early map of the North Atlantic, titled Septentrionalium Regionum Descrip., was published in Antwerp in 1592. It extends from Scandinavia and the polar regions in the east to the mythical islands of the North Atlantic, Greenland, Iceland and North America. Frans Hogenberg engraved it, and the catalog calls it one of the most interesting maps to appear in an atlas, and an influential one in its treatment of the Arctic. The mainland of America appears in the northwest under the placename Estotilant, and the sheet also carries sea monsters and sailing ships. It is a sheet of great interest to anyone who likes the borderland between geography and legend.

The map includes a number of mythical islands, among them Frisland, Drogeo and Icaria, and it shows the influence of Mercator's wall map of 1569, the Zeno map of 1558 and the work of Olaus Magnus in 1539. It gives an excellent early outline of the Scandinavian coast, bordering the Mare Congelatum, the frozen waters of the Arctic. On the verso a note on the nature of the cliffs is given. Ortelius lived from 1527 to 1598, and his Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, first issued in 1570, was the first modern atlas. The map is listed as Van den Broecke 160.

A collector of early Arctic maps, a family with roots in Iceland or the Nordic north, or a reader of tales of the Zeno voyages will find a grand gift here. TheMapVault's Hondius sheet of Iceland from 1629 shows the island in detail, whereas this Ortelius map shows the whole ocean around it. Like every print in the collection, it ships unframed and is available in a full range of sizes, from a compact desk piece to a large-format statement print. It would suit a study or a library, where its sea monsters and mythical islands may be enjoyed at leisure.