Presbiteri Johannis, Sive, Abissinorum Imperii Descriptio

Antwerp: Ortelius, 1587. Maps. Overall in very good condition. A very nice example of Ortelius' famous map of the Kingdom of Prester John, with later hand color. It is from a Latin edition of Ortelius' Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, the first modern atlas of the world.

Cartographica Neerlandica Background for Ortelius Map No. 175. The map is difficult to date. The following details correspond to the aforementioned bibliography - it is consistent with 175.2, as the coastline has hatching extended from about 3 to about 6 mm, signifying from 1587 & beyond. The ship in the lower left corner has a vessel attached to its mast. In the first state this vessel has vertical hatching. Now, this is changed to horizontal hatching. In this copy, the frame around the map has curved oval hatching around its oval ornaments. The sea was not re-engraved in later editions, and as they are strongly engraved in this copy, it would indicate an earlier edition. There is a watermark of two crossed arrows, measuring 10 cm in length. The last line of text on the verso reads "uerit, vide Jacobum Nauarchum in sua epistola Asiatica, & Gerardum Mercatorem in sua universali tabula. 89".
"Ortelius 1579 is penciled on the verso by an unknown person, but that is unknown.

The map centers on "Africva", in a strange configuration which goes from the coast of Benin and the "Mare Aethiopicum" to the Arabian Sea, titled "Barbaricus Sinus". Arabia Felix covers the area of Saudi Arabia and adjoining countries, with the Red Sea between the Arabian Penninsula and the coast of Africa. Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem are noted with large buildings, indicating their importance and colored red.

Prester John was a mythical African King, waging a war against the Muslim Infidels from his Kingdom in Central Africa. Add the Byzantine Patriarch, Crusaders, Islamic Saracens, the Portuguese and a fake letter for this For centuries, from the receipt of a fake letter from Prester John to the Byzantine Patriarch, Europeans searched for Prester John, initially in Asia and later in Africa. The Crusaders hoped that Prester John would join with Europeans in the protection of the Holy Lands from the Islamic Saracens and in the protection of all Europe from the Mongols. In the late 1400s and early 1500s, the Portugese searched for Prester John in East Africa, through they did eventually find a Christian kingdom in Abyssinia. A dedication to King David of the Bible is in the upper left of map. Above the dedication is the coat of arms of Prester John. Elephants and other figures adorn the map.

Copper engraving with period hand color, 17.5 x 15" with wide margins. Text in Latin on the verso. Two small wormholes in the top margin.