Picardiae Belgicae Regio Nis Descriptio

A highly detailed copper engraved map of the Picardie region in Northwest France by Abraham Ortelius. This map is finely engraved with forests, cities, villages along the Somme River and features the Picardie Region from the sea in the west to Abbeville, San Quentin and Amiens in the east. It has fancy strap-work title and scale cartouches, and is surrounded by a diamond interlocking border.
Abraham Ortelius (1527 - 1598) was one of the most important figures in the early history of cartography. His seminal 1570 atlas “Theatrum Orbis Terrarum”, is generally considered to be the world's first modern atlas. Ortelius was born in Antwerp and began his cartographic career as a typesetter for the Antwerp Guild of St. Luke. In this role, Ortelius traveled extensively through Europe where he came into contact with Mercator, under whose influence, he marketed himself as a "Scientific Geographer". Ortelius met Mercator in 1554 and worked with him from time to time on various cartographic projects.
During Ortelius’s long career, he published numerous important maps as well as issued several updated editions of his cardinal work, the “Theatrum Orbis Terrarum”, with 53 maps. Later, Ortelius was appointed Royal Cartographer to King Phillip II of Spain.