Antique world maps: the 10 most beautiful to hang at home
Roberto Zampieri
The map of the first modern atlas
Typus Orbis Terrarum, the world of Abraham Ortelius (1570)
- Printed on handmade Amalfi paper, with deckled edges
- Beech wood frame assembled by hand
- Sheet 29 x 42 cm (11.4 x 16.5 in), 31 x 44 cm (12.2 x 17.3 in) framed
- Certificate of authenticity signed by the artisan
€206
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Antique world maps are among the few objects that can furnish a wall and tell a story at the same time: a single sheet holds what people knew about the Earth in a given year, what they imagined, and everything they did not yet know. In front of a sixteenth-century map you always end up looking for Italy, then for an America that has no shape yet, then for the sea monsters in the ocean.
In this guide you will find the 10 most beautiful antique world maps to hang at home, in chronological order: from the Nuremberg Chronicle of 1493, when America was not there yet, to the Enlightenment map of 1780, when almost the whole world had been drawn. For each one we tell you who made it, what to look for and which room it suits best. All are reproduced on handmade Amalfi paper with a beech wood frame, from €190 to €208.
Antique maps: where to see them and what an original costs
Where to see antique maps. Many of the great collections can be browsed for free online. OldMapsOnline is a search engine gathering maps from dozens of libraries; the David Rumsey Map Collection has digitised more than one hundred thousand in high definition; Gallica, the digital library of the National Library of France, and the Library of Congress in Washington hold some of the maps in this guide. In Italy you can see them in person, for example, at the Biblioteca Estense in Modena and the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana in Venice.
What an original antique map costs. An original sixteenth- or seventeenth-century map is bought from antiquarian dealers and auction houses: the most common start at a few hundred euros, but the great world maps by Ortelius, Mercator or Blaeu often cost thousands of euros, and the rarest editions tens of thousands. There is also a practical problem: an original must be protected from light and humidity, and cannot always hang in the living room.
Why choose a reproduction. A faithful reproduction on fine paper gives you the same image, the same watercolour hues and the same wealth of detail, at a fraction of the price and without the fear of damaging it. Ours are printed on Amalfi paper, made by hand from cotton fibres like the papers of the past, and arrive framed and ready to hang.
The fifteenth and sixteenth centuries: the world grows
In less than a hundred years Europe discovers America, sails around the world and invents the atlas. These are the maps richest in imagination and wonder.
1. The world map of Hartmann Schedel, 1493
This is the world map of the Nuremberg Chronicle, the great illustrated history of the world published in 1493 by the physician and humanist Hartmann Schedel: one of the most richly illustrated books of the fifteenth century, with more than 1,800 woodcuts. The world is Ptolemy's, with Europe, Asia and Africa around the Mediterranean. America is missing: Columbus had returned to Spain only a few months earlier, and the news had not yet reached the books. In the corners are the three sons of Noah, Shem, Ham and Japheth, who according to tradition peopled the three continents; on the left, a column of fantastic creatures believed to live at the edges of the Earth.
Perfect for a study or library, lovers of old books, and anyone looking for the most "medieval" map in this guide.
€196 · on Amalfi paper, 31 x 44 cm (12.2 x 17.3 in) framed
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Discover and buy the print2. The heart-shaped world of Oronce Finé
The world drawn inside a heart. It is not a romantic whim but a mathematical solution: Oronce Finé, professor of mathematics in Paris, used the so-called cordiform projection to spread the globe onto a flat sheet while preserving the proportions of areas. His map, published in the 1530s, shows an America discovered barely forty years earlier and a huge southern continent that no one had ever seen, but everyone believed must exist. Around it, an architectural frame with two columns.
Perfect for an anniversary or wedding gift, the bedroom, couples who travel together: it is the most romantic map there is.
€208 · on Amalfi paper, 31 x 44 cm (12.2 x 17.3 in) framed
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Discover and buy the print3. Magellan's voyage, by Battista Agnese, 1545
Battista Agnese was a Genoese cartographer working in Venice: he did not print his maps, he drew and painted them by hand on vellum, in precious atlases for princes and merchants. On this oval map a line follows the first circumnavigation of the globe, the expedition that set out under Ferdinand Magellan in 1519 and returned to Spain in 1522 with only eighteen survivors. Around the world the winds blow, depicted as cherubs' heads among the clouds. Of all the maps in this guide it is the brightest and most decorative.
Perfect for lovers of travel and the sea, sailors, the bedroom of a young explorer enthusiast, a seaside home.
€196 · on Amalfi paper, 31 x 44 cm (12.2 x 17.3 in) framed
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Discover and buy the print4. Typus Orbis Terrarum, by Abraham Ortelius, 1570
This is the map that opened the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, published in Antwerp in 1570 and considered the first modern atlas: for the first time all the maps of the world had the same format and were bound into a single book. It was a huge success, reprinted for decades in several languages. The world is oval, surrounded by clouds, with North America still too wide and a gigantic southern continent at the bottom. Below, a line from Cicero: what can seem great in human affairs to someone who knows all eternity and the size of the whole world? We have also written about it in our article on the map of Italy from the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum.
Perfect for the living room and dining room, a professional office, anyone who wants the most famous and recognisable antique map.
€206 · on Amalfi paper, 31 x 44 cm (12.2 x 17.3 in) framed
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Discover and buy the print5. The double-hemisphere world of the Mercators, 1587
Gerardus Mercator is the most famous cartographer in history: in 1569 he invented the projection that bears his name, still used today on nautical charts and many digital maps, and he was the one who called a collection of maps an "atlas". This double-hemisphere world map, titled Orbis Terrae Compendiosa Descriptio, was published in 1587 by his son Rumold, based on his father's great map: it is one of the most elegant images of the world of the sixteenth century, with its two circles side by side and its soft colours. Our article on the double-hemisphere world map by Mercator tells its story in detail.
Perfect for the study, the entrance hall, anyone who loves understated décor: it is the most essential and elegant map in this guide.
€190 · on Amalfi paper, 31 x 44 cm (12.2 x 17.3 in) framed
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Discover and buy the printThe seventeenth century: Amsterdam's golden age
In the seventeenth century the finest maps were printed in Holland. They became luxury objects, full of portraits, allegories and figures, to hang in merchants' homes.
6. The new world map of Henricus Hondius, 1630
Henricus Hondius was the son of Jodocus Hondius, the Amsterdam cartographer who had bought Mercator's plates and carried on publishing his atlas. In his great map of 1630 the two hemispheres are surrounded by a true gallery of portraits: in the corners Julius Caesar, Ptolemy, Mercator and Jodocus Hondius himself, as if to say that geography is a story running from the Romans all the way to Amsterdam. Between the circles, allegories of the elements and the heavens.
Perfect for lovers of history and great figures, a teacher's study, a classic living room.
€194 · on Amalfi paper, 31 x 44 cm (12.2 x 17.3 in) framed
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Discover and buy the print7. The world map of Willem Blaeu, 1635
Willem Janszoon Blaeu had studied astronomy with Tycho Brahe, and in 1633 he became official cartographer of the Dutch East India Company, at the centre of all the information arriving from the routes of world trade. His world map, published in the Atlas Novus of 1635, is a rectangular planisphere framed by figures: the planets, the seasons, the elements, the wonders of the world. It is the masterpiece of the so-called "carte à figures", made to be hung like paintings. The whole story is in our article on Blaeu's world map of 1635.
Perfect for a grand living room, the wall above the sofa or console table, anyone who wants the map richest in detail.
€201 · on Amalfi paper, 31 x 44 cm (12.2 x 17.3 in) framed
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Discover and buy the print8. The world map of John Speed, 1676
John Speed was the most famous English cartographer of his time, and his Prospect of the Most Famous Parts of the World, published in 1627, is considered the first world atlas published by an Englishman. This is a 1676 edition of his world map: two hemispheres with portraits of the great navigators, and in the corners diagrams of a solar and a lunar eclipse, showing the positions of the Sun, the Earth and the Moon. Look for California: here it is drawn as an island, one of the most famous mistakes in cartography.
Perfect for lovers of astronomy and navigation, the study of an engineer or science teacher, anyone with a connection to England.
€193 · on Amalfi paper, 31 x 44 cm (12.2 x 17.3 in) framed
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Discover and buy the print9. The world map of Nicolaes Visscher, 1690
The Visschers were a dynasty of engravers and publishers in Amsterdam for three generations. On their world map the two hemispheres float in a sky peopled by the gods of classical mythology, among clouds, chariots and allegorical figures: geography becomes almost a theatrical scene. It is the last great season of the Dutch decorative map, before maps became plainer and more scientific. We wrote about it in our article on the world map by Visscher.
Perfect for lovers of mythology and the Baroque, the bedroom, the wall of a spacious entrance hall.
€190 · on Amalfi paper, 31 x 44 cm (12.2 x 17.3 in) framed
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Discover and buy the printThe eighteenth century: the map becomes science
With the Enlightenment, monsters and allegories disappear: maps become instruments of precision.
10. The planisphere of Rigobert Bonne, 1780
Rigobert Bonne was a French mathematician and hydrographic engineer, cartographer to the Navy. This planisphere in Mercator projection was published in 1780 in the atlas accompanying Abbé Raynal's History of the Two Indies, one of the most widely read books of the Enlightenment. No figures or decorations: only coasts, seas, names and the grid of meridians and parallels. After the great eighteenth-century voyages in the Pacific the world is almost entirely drawn, and it is the closest to the one we know today.
Perfect for modern or minimalist interiors, a professional's office, anyone who prefers a clean, legible image.
€196 · on Amalfi paper, 31 x 44 cm (12.2 x 17.3 in) framed
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Discover and buy the printWhich antique map to choose: the quick guide
- The most famous: the Typus Orbis Terrarum by Ortelius (€206).
- The most romantic, to give as a gift: the heart-shaped world of Oronce Finé (€208).
- The richest in detail: Blaeu's map of 1635 (€201).
- For lovers of travel and the sea: Magellan's voyage by Battista Agnese (€196).
- For understated décor: the Mercators' double hemisphere (€190).
- For a modern home: Bonne's planisphere (€196).
- For the study or library: Schedel's Nuremberg Chronicle (€196).
- For lovers of history and great figures: the Hondius map (€194).
- For astronomy enthusiasts: the John Speed map (€193), with eclipses in the corners.
- For lovers of mythology: the Visscher map (€190).
How to recognise a beautiful antique map
The cartographer. The great names, Mercator, Ortelius, Blaeu, Hondius, are a guarantee: their maps were the most up to date of their time and the most carefully engraved.
The date and the mistakes. In an antique map the mistakes are the most fascinating part: America missing or swelling, California drawn as an island, the great imagined southern continent. Each mistake tells what was known in that year.
The colours. Maps were printed in black and white from copper plates or woodblocks and then coloured by hand in watercolour, one by one. The finer and richer the colouring, the more precious the map was even then.
The decorations. Cartouches, blowing winds, sea monsters, portraits and allegories: they are what turns a geographical map into a work of art to hang.
Where to hang an antique map
In the study. It is the natural room for a map: behind the desk it lends authority and accompanies everyday work.
In the living room or dining room. Above the sofa or console table, a seventeenth-century map full of figures becomes the focal point of the room. Two maps of the same size side by side work very well above a long sofa.
In the entrance hall and corridor. Where people pause for a moment, a world map invites a closer look.
In the bedroom. For a bedroom, a map in soft colours such as Finé's heart-shaped world or Mercator's double hemisphere.
A practical tip: maps look their best at eye level, with the centre about 150-160 cm (59-63 in) from the floor, because they are meant to be looked at up close.
Why it is not a poster
An antique map deserves a worthy support. Our prints are made the way they used to be.
Amalfi paper. Made only from cotton fibres, thick and soft to the touch, with the deckled edges of handmade paper: the oldest paper in Italy.
Handcrafted frame. In beech wood, cut and assembled by hand by our artisans: the print arrives ready to hang.
Embossed mark. Every print carries the Trizio Editore mark, blind-embossed into the Amalfi paper.
Frequently asked questions
What is the oldest map of the world?
The oldest known map of the world is the so-called Babylonian Map of the World, a small clay tablet from the sixth century BC kept in the British Museum in London: it shows Babylon at the centre, surrounded by a ring-shaped ocean. Among the maps in this guide, the oldest is the one from Schedel's Nuremberg Chronicle, of 1493.
Where can I find antique maps?
To view them for free online: OldMapsOnline, the David Rumsey Map Collection, Gallica and the Library of Congress. To buy an original you need a specialist antiquarian dealer or an auction house. To hang one at home without spending thousands, the solution is a faithful reproduction on fine paper, like the ones in this guide.
How much is an original antique map worth?
It depends on the author, date, rarity, condition and colouring. The most common maps are worth a few hundred euros; the great world maps by Ortelius, Mercator or Blaeu often reach thousands of euros, and the rarest editions tens of thousands.
Were antique maps accurate?
They were as accurate as possible with the knowledge of the time, but they contain mistakes that make them fascinating today: North America too wide, California drawn as an island, a huge southern continent nobody had ever seen.
What is the difference between an original and a reproduction?
The original is the sheet printed at the time, with its collector's value and its fragility. A good reproduction gives back the same image and colours, can be hung without worry and costs a small fraction. Ours are on handmade Amalfi paper, with a beech wood frame.
Which antique map is the best gift?
For a couple or an anniversary, Oronce Finé's heart-shaped world; for someone who loves to travel, Magellan's voyage by Battista Agnese; for a history lover, Ortelius's Typus Orbis Terrarum, the map of the first modern atlas.
Do the prints come with a frame?
Yes: all the maps in this guide arrive with a handmade beech wood frame, ready to hang.
How are they shipped?
By express courier: shipping is tracked and insured, and the print travels in reinforced packaging. When it ships you receive the tracking code by email to follow the parcel until delivery.
Can I have a map in a larger size?
Yes, write to us on WhatsApp at +39 352 049 2129 or at info@trizioeditore.it and we will choose size and frame together.
Can I pay in instalments?
Yes, with PayPal you can pay in 3 interest-free instalments.
If you love maps of ancient Rome, you will also find the map of the Roman Empire at its greatest extent and the Peutinger Table; and if you are looking for a gift, our guide to the gift for a history lover.
Antwerp · 1570
Typus Orbis Terrarum, by Abraham Ortelius
Handmade Amalfi paper · Handmade beech wood frame · €206
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