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Very fine early map of the Duchy of Luxembourg with parts of France, Belgium and Germany.

The cartographic source for this map was a manuscript map of made for Charles V in 1551 by Jacques Surhon of Mons, hence the cartouche dedication “Iacobo Surhoni Montano”. It is said that for ‘security reasons’ Surhon’s map remained an unpublished manuscript.

However in 1579, during the Eighty Years War (or Dutch Revolt) and when Antwerp became the capital following the Union of Utrecht, Ortelius was able to gain access to the map and use it as a source, first publishing it in his 1579 edition of his famous atlas the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum.

[Marcel van den Broecke "Ortelius Atlas Maps, An Illustrated Guide" 2nd Edition: Ort 60] <br><br> Original hand colour. French text on verso (image available on request). [BELUX882]