Indiae Orientalis Insularumque Adiacientium Typus.

One of the earliest published maps of the East Indies, superbly decorated with a pair of frolicking mermaids, galleons, sea monsters, a crest and decorative title within a strap work frame. Issued in Abraham Ortelius’s, Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, the first ‘modern atlas’ in which all the maps were issued for the first time in a uniform size and format.

Ortelius’s map of the Indies improved upon the positioning of the all important Moluccas (the Spice Islands), than those of Gastaldi 1548, Ramusio 1554 and Forlani 1565. Much confusion resulted from the incorrect mapping of the Indies, after the travel accounts of Marco Polo’s, Divisament du Monde (Description of the World) were revealed in 1299 and specifically, the account of his five month stay in northern Sumatra, which was incorrectly scribed. Marco Polo’s relative positioning of Java Grande and Java Minor, was to confuse cartographers for the next three centuries. The tip of Terra Australis Incognita is named Beach, which again can be traced back to the incorrectly scribed accounts of Marco Polo’s travels, which mistakenly corrupted Polo’s mythical kingdom of Lochac to Boeach, which was then shortened to Beach.

1598F109 (last line, left aligned: stré, laquelle ilz ont nommée, Mar del Zur.)

References: Broecke 166, 1598F109, Clancy p.70.ill.map 5.16, Clancy (R) p.46. ill. p. 44-45, Cortazzi p. 20, ill.17 pp. 80-81, Parry pp. 76-80, ill. plate 3.14, Quirino p. 96, ill.pp. 86-87, Suarez (A), p. 164-168 ill. 166-167, Tooley 937, Walter ill. 11d detail 11d.

Collections:
National Library Australia: Bib ID 3421411 (1601 edition)
State Library NSW: Reference code (AuSN)b2737001x-61slnsw_inst (1584 edition) (AuSN)b27543869-61slnsw_inst (1612 edition)
State Library VIC: MAPS SB 401 A [1595?] Correct date should be 1602 only Spanish edition/ identified by last line, left aligned: Ouiedo, estampado en la mesme lengua.