Imagined Corners

Published in Antwerp in 1570, the THEATRUM ORBIS TERRARUM did something no previous book had done: here was the world in all its component parts, the chance to see our planet as a place of staggering variety and ultimate unity. The world's first-ever atlas was the brain-child of Abraham Ortelius; it reflected the great vitality of the era, the prevailing zest for exploration and discovery, and the linked activities of commerce and map-making. It was a work born of collaborative friendships: Ortelius' circle included two key figures of the age - printer Christophe Plantin and geographer Gerard Mercator.

Paul Binding examines the economic, cultural, religious and political backdrop to the development of the atlas, and brings vividly to life the Antwerp that produced Ortelius and his momentous work.