Cartographica Neerlandica Background for Ortelius Map No. 221

Title: ÆGYPTVS | ANTIQVA. | Terra suis contenta bo:|nis, non indiga mercis | Aut Iovis, in solo tanta | est fiducia Nilo. "Lucanus 8". [Ancient Egypt. A land that of itself is rich enough, needs no foreign aid, Iove's help it scorns, relying as it does on the bounty of the Nile. Lucanus Book 8]. (Middle top:) "Ex conatibus geo|graphicis Abraha:|mi Ortelij. | cum | Priuilegio decennali. | 1595". [From the geographical efforts of Abraham Ortelius, with a privilege for ten years, 1595]. (Oval cartouche top middle left: 20 lines with places of uncertain location. Inset, 85 x 63 mm: map of Alexandria and surroundings. More text blocks in Topographical Names).

Plate size: 359 x 512 mm.
Scale: 1 : 2,500,000.
Identification number: Ort 221 (Koeman/Meurer: 35P, Karrow: 1/207, van der Krogt AN: 8650H:31B).

Occurrence in Theatrum editions and page number:

1595Lb (500 copies printed) (last line first text page: dium locum tenere, docet vetus verbum: (italic:) "Lydi mali,secundi Ægyptij,tertij Cares", (end italic) vt habet Eusthatius ad Dionysium. De huius ),
1601Lxxxj (200 copies printed) (last line first text page, right aligned: mistius ; last line second text page, left aligned: Orum Apollinem.),
1602G30 (250 copies printed) (last line, left aligned, in Gothic script like the entire text: nius/Marcellinus vnd andere deutlich genug.),
1603L rarely xxxj, or mostly xxxiij (300 copies printed) (text and page number, but not typesetting, identical to 1609/1612S/L; 3rd line from the bottom ends: vt ; last line, indented: De Ægyptiorum philosophia,hieroglyphicisque mysterijs,consule sextum librum Stromatum Clementis Alexandrini.item Orum Apollinem.),
1606Exxxj (300 copies printed) (last line, first text page of two, cursive like most of the text, full width: "very many, as" Pliny "sayth,although they be but small and of no great account. Of these,there stood but" 3000. "unto" Diodorus Siculus "his time. We,although | we"),
1608/1612Ixxxiij (300 copies printed) (last line, indented: Della Filosofia de gli Egittii,& de misterii hieroglifici, vede il sesto lib.de Stromati di Clemente Alessandrino, & anche Oro Apolline.),
1609S/1612Sxxxiij (text in Latin) =
1609/1612Lxxxiij (600 copies printed) (text and page number, but not typesetting identical to 1603L; 3rd line from the bottom ends: hanc ; last line, indented: De Ægyptiorum philosophia,hieroglyphicisque mysterijs,consule sextum librum Stromatum Clementis Alexandrini.item Orum Apollinem.),
1624P/1641Sxxxvij (1025 copies printed) (last line first text page second column, right aligned: plura ; last line second column second text page, right aligned: drini. item Orum Apollinem.).

Approximate number of copies printed: 3475.

States: 221.1 only

Cartographic sources: The model for this map was Ortelius' own two-sheet map of Ancient Egypt, dedicated to the humanist and medical doctor Scipio Fabio from Bologna, which appeared in 1565, and for which Ortelius mentions as his sources Diodorus, Herodotos, Strabo and Plinius (Meurer p. 21-22).

References: G. Schilder (1987) "Monumenta Cartographica Neerlandica" II, Canaletto, p. 8-9.

Text

Bibliographical sources

Topographical names