The Americas - Abraham Ortelius, 1570. (US Historical Map)
This map gives you a 16th century view of North and South America on one print. Soft parchment tones, tiny ships and sea creatures make a calm focal point that works well with bookshelves, wood and brass in a study or library.
About this map print
This print is based on Abraham Ortelius’s map Americae sive novi orbis, nova descriptio, first published in Antwerp in the 1570. edition of his atlas Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, often called the first modern atlas. The map shows the whole Western Hemisphere, with North and South America drawn from the best sources Ortelius could find. The southwest coast of South America has a strong outward curve, the northwest of North America is left open, and the Great Lakes do not yet appear, which tells you how incomplete the picture of the New World still was.
The oceans are filled with a strapwork title panel, sailing ships and sea creatures, while small coastal towns and rivers run along the shores. At the bottom, two oval portraits show Amerigo Vespucci and Christopher Columbus, so the viewer sees both the land and two of the explorers linked to its European story. The engraving style and lettering match Ortelius’s world map Typus Orbis Terrarum and his Europe map Europae.
Craft & finish
This antique map print of the Americas is made on hand processed paper. We add subtle gold by hand and seal the surface with beeswax, so it feels close to real parchment when you hold it. The paper catches the light softly, but colors may look a little different from screen to screen.
Find more prints like this in our Antique Maps collection.
The Americas (Abraham Ortelius, 1570.) - Antique Map of the Americas
In case your print creases during the travel, as it usually does travel for some time, you can safely warm it up with a hair-dryer, and the wax will melt back right into it. You can also use a lighter, which is a much faster method, but be careful to keep the flame either above the paper or parallel to it (which means holding the paper vertically) so it doesn't smudge or even catch fire. The chance of the print actually creasing is very small, as they are rolled in bubble-wrap and shipped in a cardboard box. Also, be sure to keep the print out of the direct sunlight, as it can melt or fade.
Visit the link below to see more about how our replicas are made, how to display them, and repair the damage:
https://www.artifex-replicas.com/post/about-our-parchment-replicas
