by Petra Hofmann (College Librarian) This hand-coloured copy of the 1603 edition of Theatrum orbis terrarum by Abrahman Ortelius, printed in Antwerp, is one of the Library staff’s all-time favourite book in St John’s extraordinary collection of early printed books. Ortelius’s Theatrum orbis terrarum is generally considered to be the first modern atlas. Although Abraham Ortelius (1527-1598)Continue reading “A Hand-coloured Atlas”
Tag Archives: atlas
Scandinavia in the Special Collections
This month, we gather together a number of different items which share a northern theme: twentieth-century cartoons, seventeenth-century astronomy, nineteenth-century literature, sixteenth-century history, eighteenth-century exploration, and a seventeenth-century Bible. Historia de gentibus septentrionalibus [Description of the Northern people], Olaus Magnus (1550) ∑.2.14 Olaus Magnus (1490-1557) was a Swedish writer and Archbishop of Uppsala, and thisContinue reading “Scandinavia in the Special Collections”
Abraham Ortelius, Theatrum Orbis Terrarum
In St John’s College Library’s Special Collections there are four copies of Ortelius’s world atlases. These were the first attempts at mapping the known world in its entirety which demonstrate a balance between striving for accurate cartography and presenting the wondrous elements of the distant world. Abraham Ortelius (1527-1598) From Antwerp, Brussels, Ortelius was partContinue reading “Abraham Ortelius, Theatrum Orbis Terrarum”