Beautifully coloured map of Africa from the 1592 Latin edition of Abraham Ortelius’ landmark atlas “Theatrum Orbis Terrarum”, the first modern atlas of the world. This map, which was included in the Ortelius atlas since first published in 1570, is based on Gastaldi’s 1564 wall map of the continent. It has a large strap-work title cartouche containing the inscriptions “the Greeks call Africa Lybia” at the top and “Published in Antwerp in 1570” at the bottom. In a departure from Ptolemy, who positioned the source of the Nile in the Mountains of the Moon, Ortelius instead places the source as emanating from two large lakes in south-central Africa. The map is further decorated with sea monsters, a swordfish and sailing ships firing their cannon. A description of Africa appears on the verso in Latin. Other than a repair to a bottom centrefold split, without loss, the map is a strong, dark impression on heavy stable paper in excellent condition. 37.5 cm x 50.5 cm