Old coloured, recently refreshed map of North Atlantic from the 1572/73 German 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 its inception in 1570, is based on the work of several mapmakers including Mercator Zeno and Olaus Magnus. Covering the area from Russia in the east to North America in the west, the map shows a fairly accurate view of Scandinavia, Northern Europe and the British Isles, a largely imaginary depiction of the polar region, Greenland and Iceland (shown as Thule) and several mythical islands such as Friesland and St.Brendan. A description of the region appears on the verso in German. Other than some soiling to the margins and a repaired bottom centrefold split, the map is a lovely example from an early edition of the atlas on very heavy paper in excellent condition. 36 cm x 49 cm