Interesting Facts About The Atlas
An atlas is a collection of maps in the form of a book. There are different kinds of atlases available in the market today.
A collection of maps bound into book form is called an ATLAS. There are also atlases in various multimedia formats today. It has geographic features and political boundaries. An atlas usually features:
- Geopolitics
- social aspects
- religious traditions and
- economic statistics
Claudius Ptolemy, a geographer, constructed from his calculation the first book of atlas. He worked in Alexandria in 150 A.D. In 1477, his first edition was published in Bologna. It was illustrated with a set of 27 maps. This means it was not known then whether these maps were original engraved versions or otherwise.
In 1544, trading centers in Rome and Venice produced many maps. The publishers worked separately and produced maps based on their needs. These maps vary in sizes and later on, they bound them together into composite works. These works were called IATO or Italian, Assembled to Order. It was more often called Lafreri Atlases.
Abraham Ortelius was recognized in issuing the first modern atlas in May 20, 1570. The Theatrum Orbis Terrarum of Ortelius has about 53 map-sheets. It actually covers the whole world. This work reduced the available maps into a uniform size.
Gerardo Mercator introduced the earliest atlases in 1595.
The word ATLAS is a common basis of mistaken belief. This is because two mythical figures are connected with the making of maps.
- King Atlas