Indiae Orientalis Insularumque Adiacientium Typus.

Famous early c.17th map of the East Indies by Abraham Ortelius.

One of the earliest maps to focus solely on the East Indies, and with northwest Australia named Beach, published in Ortelius’s Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, widely regarded as the first modern atlas for having all the maps in a similar size and format.

Ortelius was the first to separate ancient and recent geographic knowledge in his maps and to indicate the changes from the old nomenclature to the new. Superbly embellished with a pair of frolicking mermaids, galleons, sea monsters, a crest and decorative strapwork title cartouche engraved by Frans Hogenberg (1539-1590).

Ortelius’s map of the Indies improved upon the previous cartography of the Moluccas (Spice Islands) by Ramusio 1554, Gastaldi 1562, and Forlani 1565, using more recent Portuguese and Spanish sources. This map, along with Ortelius’s map of Asia are the first published works to chart the island of Formosa (Taiwan) and to identify it by that name. The Moluccas were visited by the Italian traveller Varthema who reached the island of Momoch (probably Ternate) in 1505, seven years prior to the Portuguese. In the account of his travels, Itinerario de Ludouico de Varthema Bolognese, published in Rome in 1510, he wrote ‘Here the cloves grow, and in many other neighbouring islands.’ Ortelius correctly locates the islands of Ternate, Tidore, Machian and Bachan to the west of Gilolo and in doing so, provided for the first time a large-scale map published in sufficient numbers to make a substantial impact on the current knowledge of the East Indies. The land of Beach, the northern tip of Australia, is shown emerging from the lower margin and above it lies the mythical land of Java Major which, according to Marco Polo, was the largest island in the world. Polo’s Java Minor is seen here correctly named as the island of Sumatra.

Ortelius text on the map translated:
Title: A map of the East Indies and surrounding islands].
Banner at lower right: “Insulæ Moluccæ ob maximam aromatum copiam, quam per totum terrarû orbem trans|ferunt, 5.sunt, iuxta Gilolo nempe, Tarenate, Tidore, Motir, Machia et Bachia.” [Of the famous Moluccas islands there are next to Gilolo five, exporting all over the world a great abundance of fragrant spices, namely Tarenate, Tidore, Motir, Machia and Bachia.]
New Guinea: “NOVA GVINEA quam Andreas Corsalis Terram Piccinaculi appellare vi:detur. An insula sit, an pars continentis Australis incer:tum est”. [New Guinea, which seems to be called Piccinaculusland by Andreas Corsalis. Whether this is an island or part of the South Land is uncertain.]

This edition identified by: text last line, left aligned: di Gonsali Ferdinandi Ouetani,eadem lingua editum., page number, 121