Ortelius, Abraham | The first printed map of the Pacific Ocean

Ortelius, Abraham

Maris Pacifici, (quod vulgò Mar del Zur). [Antwerp]: 1589 [but 1602]

Double-page engraved map (sheet: 463 x 589 mm), Spanish text on verso, early handcoloring. Just splitting at foot of vertical fold. Matted, framed, and glazed with Plexiglas.  

The first printed map of the Pacific, one of the most important individual maps to appear in Ortelius' Theatrum Orbis Terrarum.

The present map is notable for its inclusion of a detailed delineation of the western seaboard of the Americas, which is one of the earliest obtainable maps to refer to "Americae Septentrionalior" and "Americae Meridionalior" (North America and South America), and an important landmark in the mapping of California (correctly shown as a peninsula). Ferdinand Magellan's ship Victoria is depicted traversing the southern Pacific. 

REFERENCE:

Burden, Mapping of North America 74