The Ortelius three part map showing key Spanish discoveries in America with a focus on gold and silver sources. 1584. Antwerp.

If you want some true pleasure, read what William Patterson Cumming wrote in the "southeast in early maps" about this 1584 Ortelius showing the three maps on one sheet of Florida, Mexico and Peru.  
Cumming was a mentor of mine and I would visit him regularly in Davidson, NC to learn from him.  He was an English professor at Davidson and was the classic refined, brilliant, low key Southern gentleman.   No one in the history of cartography comes close to the smoothness of his verse.   There are many references to the Ortelius in his book but his essay on the early cartography of the Southeast is the best ever written even though it was written more than 50 years ago.  In that chapter, there is a section devoted to the Ortelius/DeSoto that is deeply enjoyable to read.    It is definitely my bible.

Comments