Abraham Ortelius (1527-1598) Americae Sive Novi Orbis Nova Descriptio, 1587 from Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (first state), black and white line engraving with period color, 14 x 19-1/4 in. (lines), 22-5/8 x 28-3/4 in. (frame); matted and framed Notes: This copy was published in William C. Wooldridge, Mapping Virginia, figure 5, pp. 6-8. The most important feature depicted on Abraham Ortelius’s Americae Sive Novi Orbis was the inclusion of a body of water, or inlet that may be the first illustration of the Chesapeake Bay on a printed map. This finger of water, which flows due west, is depicted directly below Apalchen and above Wingan Dekoa. Arthur Barlowe, who explored the area during Sir Walter Raleigh’s 1584 expedition, identified “Wingandacoa” as the land inhabited by Native Americans under the rule of King Wingina. In the narrative of the voyage, Barlowe wrote, “The king is called Wingina, the countrey Wingandacoa, (and nowe by her Majestie, Virginia).” Literature: Burden, Philip D., The Mapping of North America, no. 64; Wooldridge, William, C., “Ortelius's Chesapeake” in The Portolan 61, 37-40; Pritchard, Margaret B. and Henry G. Taliaferro, Degrees of Latitude: Mapping Colonial America, no. 1, pp. 56-59. Provenance: Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Proceeds to Benefit the Acquisitions Fund minor creasing and fading