HAMBURG.- Today we can hardly imagine the world without Google Maps. But this was the reality in past centuries. Orientation came with the first modern atlas by Abraham Ortelius, which set the standard for all following atlases. On November 29 the famous map work will be called up in the Rare Book Auction at Ketterer Kunst in Hamburg with an estimate of € 80,000.

As the first atlas of all, Abraham Ortelius’ “Theatrum orbis terrarum“ has a very special significance for its groundbreaking innovations in terms of content and getup. This copy in a splendid old coloring is one of only 200 from the last edition that Jan Moretus had printed by the Plantin printshop for Ortelius' heirs. The atlas contains more than 150 maps, among them a world map, views of the continents Europe, Africa, Asia and America, as well as maps of the Pacific Ocean and the Norwegian Sea.

EUROPEAN: With his ambitious publishing project from 1649, the “Atlas major“, Joan Blaeu put focus on the German language region and its neighboring areas. The complete copy of the German volume in a fine coloring is unusually well-preserved and will enter the race with an estimate of € 20,000.

HOURLY: The parchment-printed Book of Hours “Horae ad usum Romanum“ from 1488-1508 is also an absolute rarity. The very early print by the famous Parisian publisher Antoine Vérard is one of just four known copies and comes from the collection of Henry-August Brölemann. The book is illustrated with large woodcuts after the master of the Grandes Heures and also features a portrait miniature of its noble remitter. The estimate is at € 30,000.

APOCALYPTIC: Estimated only with € 8,000 but likewise rare, the work “Das neü Testament“ in Luther’s translation was published by Silvan Otmar in Augsburg in 1523. The very early edition is particularly interesting for the famous woodcut series on the Apocalypse by Hans Burgkmair the Elder, which was published in this work for the very first time.

LEGENDARY: Next to the Nuremberg Chronicle, the Cologne Chronicle or the “Cronica van der hilliger Stat Coellen“ is the most important chronic of the 15th century. Estimated at € 25,000, the first edition of the first Cologne Chronicle features almost 400 woodcuts in old coloring. It contains many sagas and legends, as well as a much-quoted chapter on the invention of book printing.

NATURAL: Mark Catesby‘s ‘Piscium serpentum insectorum“ is a very gaudy compilation of the American flora and fauna in old coloring. This is a very rare complete copy of the extended 1777 edition of the leading and very popular monograph. It will be called up with an estimate of € 25,000.

GENETICAL: Through crossings of legumes in the monastery garden, the Augustinian monk Johann Gregor Mendel laid the foundations for classic genetics as early as in the mid 19th century. With his writing “Versuche über Pflanzen-Hybriden“ dated 1866, he did not only create one of the most important works in the history of biology, but also a work of fundamental significance for modern genetics, in which he described the so called Mendelian inheritance. His contemporaries did not value the unconventional project with its seminal results appropriately and it was only posthumously recognized. The first edition of the work rediscovered in 1900 is estimated at € 30,000.

EXPRESSIVE: We are taken into the world of German Expressionism by Will Grohmann‘s de-luxe-edition of “Das Werk Ernst Ludwig Kirchners“ with signed prints by the artist. In a rare de-luxe binding, the splendid artist book with original woodcuts and Kirchner‘s signature on the title will enter the race with an estimate of € 20,000.

MONUMENTAL: “Pierre philosophale“ is one of Joan Miró‘s biggest works, and surely not just because of its size of 160.5 x 121 cm. With great poise the artist rendered everyday symbols, automatic characters and lyrical poetry in bright colors on the over-sized copperplate and forms a striking unity. The signed aquatint etching will be called up with an estimate of € 25,000.

COMPLETED: The range of offerings also features Alfred Hrdlicka’s “Wie ein Totentanz“ dated 1974 (estimate: € 14,000) and the expressionistic magazine “Der Sturm“ (estimate: € 16,000) as well as first editions of Immanuel Kant’s ”Kritik der reinen Vernunft“ (estimate: € 15,000) and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s ”Götz von Berlichingen“ (estimate: € 7,000).