This beautifully hand coloured original antique map of the SW French coastal province of Poitou & surrounding regions was published by Abraham Ortelius in the 1595 Latin edition of Theatrum Orbis Terrarum.
A wonderfully detailed map of the SW coast of France including the cities of La Rochelle and Nantes extends inland to important wine making areas such as Cognac, Chateau Neuf and St. Emilion and familiar chateaux towns including Rochefort, Saintes, Fontenay, Angouleme.

For the first time, in 1570, all the elements of the modern Atlas were brought to publication  in Abraham Ortelius' Theatrum Orbis Terrarum. This substantial undertaking assembled fifty-three of the best available maps of the world by the most renowned and up to date geographers.
Unlike earlier compositions, such as the Italian composite or "Lafreri" Atlases, each of Ortelius' maps was engraved specifically for his Atlas according to uniform format. Through its launching, pre-eminence in map publishing was transferred from Italy to the Netherlands, leading to over a hundred years of Dutch supremacy in all facts of cartographical production.

There were a total of 7300 copies of Theatrum  published between 1570 - 1612 from 31 editions. (Ref: Van Den Broecke; Tooley)

General Description:
Paper thickness and quality: - Light and stable
Paper color: - off white
Age of map color: - Early color
Colors used: - Yellow, green, blue, pink
General color appearance: - Authentic
Paper size: - 21 1/2in x 19in (545mm x 485mm)
Plate size: - 20in x 14 1/2in (510mm x 370mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - Light age toning
Plate area: - Small restoration to title cartouche
Verso: - Age toning

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