Africae Tabula Nova Edita Antverpiae 1570.

This beautiful map is one of the cornerstone maps of Africa. This particular map does not have text on the verso. This example is not recorded by van den Broecke in his book. The verso shows evidence of a binder's stub and may have been part of a specially assembled composite atlas.

This particular map appears to be an early issue of the map. As the map shows absolutely no evidence of the crack to the copperplate in the title, this map is likely from an edition of 1570 or slightly later. (the copperplate used to produce this map began to crack on the title around 1602, showing initially on the map at the end of the first line of the title and the date of 1570 was removed from the title sometime between 1606 and 1612, according to van den Broecke).

Geographically, the map is a close copy of Gastaldi’s map of 1564 and follows the Ptolemaic view of the Nile. It generally replaced Sebastian Munster's widely circulated map of Africa. Ortelius' map was modern in appearance, compared to Munster and others, and remained the standard map of Africa well into the 17th century (Tooley, p. 88). The map contains a superb vignette of a naval battle on bottom right, and various sea monsters.

Ortelius' map of Africa was normally included in the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, the first atlas that produced a uniform series of maps of the world. The publication of the Theatrum.Orbis Terrarum can be considered the starting point for over 100 years of Dutch supremacy in the production of beautiful maps and atlases.

Reference: van den Broecke, map #8. Betz Map # 12. Tooley’s Guide to Maps of Africa, p 88. Norwich, map # 10. Krogt, Peter van der. Koeman's Atlantes Neerlandici, vol. 3 (Ortelius). 't Goy-Houten: HES Publishers, 2003.