Imagined Corners : Exploring the World's First Atlas

London: Review / Headline Book Publishing. Near Fine in Near Fine dust jacket. (2003). First Edition. Hardcover. 0747230404 . No signatures. Dust-jacket protected in archival mylar cover.; [6], 314 pages. Blue boards with gilt lettering on spine. Page dimensions: 246 x 183mm. Numerous illustrations, including many in colour. "The 'Theatrum orbis terrarum' was a watershed publication; it changed lives and altered perceptions for ever. Published in Antwerp in 1570, it did something no previous book had done: here was the world in all its component parts, the chance to see our planet as a place of staggering variety and ultimate unity. It was the world's first ever atlas. Brainchild of Abraham Ortelius, the 'Theatrum' reflected the great vitality of the era, the prevailing zest for exploration and discovery, and the linked activities of international commerce and map-making. In his native city of Antwerp, then the world's liveliest port, Ortelius was member of a circle of extraordinary men including the age's most eminent printer, Chrisophe Plantin, and greatest geographer, Gerard Mercator. His warm, compelling personality meant that his momentous work was born of friendship and collaboration, at a time when the Low Countries were struggling under the brutal yoke of Hapsburg Spain." - from dust-jacket blurb. .