The Americas - Abraham Ortelius, 1570. (Antique Map of the United States)
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.
To learn more about the history of these pieces and how we craft them in our family workshop, feel free to read our full guide to antique map prints.
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.
If you are curious about the history behind this piece, we put together a short background on this map for you to read.
Craft & finish
Every replica we make is individually hand-processed in our family workshop. We finish the paper with a traditional beeswax seal to give it a warm, heavy texture. Our team also adds subtle gold paint details by hand to help the artwork truly shine. To complete the look, we hand-burn the edges to give each piece the feel of a true historical artifact.
While our smaller sizes are perfect for gallery walls, our 43x61 cm Large replica is a museum-scale centerpiece. Because of the size, the hand-processing and beeswax application take much longer. This extra time and care ensures that every centimeter of the historic illustration is preserved with a rich, authentic glow.
Find more prints like this in our Antique Maps collection.
The Americas (Abraham Ortelius, 1570.) - Antique Map of the Americas
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At Artifex Historical Replicas, we bridge the gap between museum archives and your home. Each piece is a handcrafted historical art print recreated from authentic primary sources, including antique city views and botanical illustrations.
Hand-Processed Paper: We use specialized paper with burned edges and a beeswax finish to replicate the weight and feel of genuine old parchment.
Gilded Details: Our workshop adds subtle real gold accents, bringing the same glow to your walls found in 16th-century illuminated manuscripts.
Custom Sizes & Worldwide Shipping: We offer bespoke sizing for custom frames and ship our historical replicas globally from our family workshop.
Explore our full guide on how we create, display, and restore parchment-style replicas.
