Old coloured map of North and South America from the 1592 Latin edition of Abraham Ortelius’ landmark atlas “Theatrum Orbis Terrarum”, the first modern atlas of the world. This example, which is the third and final state of this map, first appeared in the Ortelius atlas in 1587 and is principally based on Mercator’s 1569 world map. Changes made to this third state include a much more realistic depiction of South America by the removal of the bulge on its south-west coast and the addition of newly discovered cartographic details, such as the inclusion of the Solomon Islands off the east coast of an oversized New Guinea, the addition of an inlet (presumably the Chesapeake Bay) on the mid-Atlantic coast of North America and the use of the name “California” on the peninsula on its west coast. A description of the region appears on the verso in Latin. Other than a professional repair to a short bottom centrefold split, the map is a lovely example with wide margins on heavy, stable paper in excellent condition. 35.5 cm x 49 cm