Jewels in Her Crown: Treasures of Columbia University Libraries Special Collections

95.  Abraham Ortelius (1527-1598).  Theatrum orbis terrarum. Antwerp: Egidius Coppens Diesth, 1570. RBML

Ortelius's "Theater of the Whole World" is considered the first modern geographical atlas and was first published on May 20, 1570. It proved to be so popular that a second edition appeared later that year. Ortelius compiled and edited the work, gathering together the best maps that he could find, and had them re-engraved in uniform size, listing all of the contributors to the volume. Most of the engraving work was executed by Franz Hogenberg (fl. 1558 - 1590).