Orbis Universalis Descriptio [Reprint]

A vintage reprinting of an important early world map.

This compelling cartographic artifact is a circa 1900 lithographic facsimile of the map originally compiled by Bristol merchant Robert Thorne in 1527. Thorne’s map was a landmark of early English expansionism, famously sent to King Henry VIII’s ambassador to advocate for a northern route to the “Spiceries.”

The map gained widespread fame when it was reprinted in 1582 by Richard Hakluyt in his seminal work, Divers Voyages touching the discoverie of America, serving as a foundational document for the Elizabethan Age of Discovery. Notable features include the Papal Line of Demarcation, a rudimentary outline of the New World, and an early European interpretation of the geography of Southeast Asia.