Ortelius World Map, 1570Abraham Ortelius, 1570Framed from $109.00Antique Maps & Charts
Prints of old maps and sea charts held in public library collections, printed in Australia as art prints, framed prints or canvas.
Style
Colour
Room
Orientation
Size
Format
Artist
Ortelius World Map, 1570Abraham Ortelius, 1570Framed from $109.00
The Tasman Map, c. 1644after Abel Janszoon Tasman (attributed; record: 'now thought to be neither by Tasman nor from 1644'), c. 1644Framed from $109.00
Freycinet's Map of New Holland, 1808Louis de Freycinet, 1808Framed from $109.00
Hoddle's Plan of Melbourne, 1837Robert Hoddle, 1837Framed from $109.00
Admiralty Chart, Port Jackson to Port Stephens, 1868Great Britain. Hydrographic Department (survey Cmdr F.W. Sidney 1866; engraved by E. Stanford), 1868Framed from $109.00
Admiralty Chart of Moreton Bay, 1848Great Britain. Hydrographic Dept. (Cmdr J.C. Wickham 1839, additions Capt. Owen Stanley 1847; engraved J. & C. Walker), 1848Framed from $109.00
Admiralty Chart of the Great Barrier Reef, 1860Great Britain. Hydrographic Dept. (compiled by F.J. Evans; engraved J. & C. Walker), 1860Framed from $109.00
Cellarius Northern Celestial Hemisphere, 1708Andreas Cellarius (publishers Gerard Valk & Peter Schenk), 1708Framed from $109.00
Cellarius Southern Celestial Hemisphere, 1708Andreas Cellarius (publishers Gerard Valk & Peter Schenk), 1708Framed from $109.00
Cellarius Celestial Hemispheres Pair2 printsFramed from $196.20 · save 10%Wall art sizes and prices
| Size | Art Print | Framed | Canvas |
|---|---|---|---|
| A3 / 30x40 cm | $65.00 | $149.00 | $129.00 |
| A2 / 40x50 cm | $85.00 | $199.00 | $159.00 |
| 50x70 cm | $89.00 | $249.00 | $219.00 |
| 60x90 cm | $115.00 | $329.00 | $289.00 |
$10 standard or $15 express per order, Australia wide. Printed in Australia, ships in 3-5 business days.
Are these the old sheets or prints?
Every piece is a print, made from a file of the map held by a library collection. The library keeps the old sheet itself. What arrives at your door is a modern print of a historic map, not the paper the mapmaker worked on. Each artwork page carries the holding library's name and the record number, so a print can be traced back to the collection.
Where do the maps come from?
From public library collections. The State Library of New South Wales holds the Tasman Map, the National Library of Australia holds Freycinet's sheet and the Admiralty charts, State Library Victoria holds Hoddle's Plan of Melbourne, and the Library of Congress holds the Ortelius and Cellarius sheets. Each artwork page names the library and the record number for the map you are looking at.
Is there an old map of Australia here?
Yes. The Tasman Map, c. 1644, is the only first-hand record of the route sailed that year, and Freycinet's sheet is the vintage map of Australia to study if the full coastline is what you want, with a plate dated An 1808 and printed in his 1812 atlas. The Admiralty charts cover Port Jackson to Port Stephens, Moreton Bay and the Great Barrier Reef, and Hoddle's Plan of Melbourne covers the city.
Why do some maps show fold lines or stains?
Because they were on the sheet when the map was made and used, and we leave them there. Fold lines, stains, uneven paper and the hand colour are part of the record of the sheet, so they stay. What we do remove is the library's own marking: stamps and shelf numbers. Every engraved line is kept.
Which frame suits an antique map?
A framed print keeps the decision simple. The frame is a thin 20 mm profile, and you choose oak look, black or white. Black lets the engraved lines carry the sheet, while oak look warms a map with hand colour. The front is perspex, not glass, there is no mount as standard, and the print arrives ready to hang.
What does delivery cost?
Delivery Australia wide is $10 standard or $15 express per order, chosen at checkout. The rate is charged per order rather than per print, so one checkout covers a pair or a set.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are these the old sheets or prints?
Every piece is a print, made from a file of the map held by a library collection. The library keeps the old sheet itself. What arrives at your door is a modern print of a historic map, not the paper the mapmaker worked on. Each artwork page carries the holding library's name and the record number, so a print can be traced back to the collection.
Where do the maps come from?
From public library collections. The State Library of New South Wales holds the Tasman Map, the National Library of Australia holds Freycinet's sheet and the Admiralty charts, State Library Victoria holds Hoddle's Plan of Melbourne, and the Library of Congress holds the Ortelius and Cellarius sheets. Each artwork page names the library and the record number for the map you are looking at.
Is there an old map of Australia here?
Yes. The Tasman Map, c. 1644, is the only first-hand record of the route sailed that year, and Freycinet's sheet is the vintage map of Australia to study if the full coastline is what you want, with a plate dated An 1808 and printed in his 1812 atlas. The Admiralty charts cover Port Jackson to Port Stephens, Moreton Bay and the Great Barrier Reef, and Hoddle's Plan of Melbourne covers the city.
Why do some maps show fold lines or stains?
Because they were on the sheet when the map was made and used, and we leave them there. Fold lines, stains, uneven paper and the hand colour are part of the record of the sheet, so they stay. What we do remove is the library's own marking: stamps and shelf numbers. Every engraved line is kept.
Which frame suits an antique map?
A framed print keeps the decision simple. The frame is a thin 20 mm profile, and you choose oak look, black or white. Black lets the engraved lines carry the sheet, while oak look warms a map with hand colour. The front is perspex, not glass, there is no mount as standard, and the print arrives ready to hang.
What does delivery cost?
Delivery Australia wide is $10 standard or $15 express per order, chosen at checkout. The rate is charged per order rather than per print, so one checkout covers a pair or a set.
Learn More
Old maps of Australia
The Tasman Map, c. 1644, sits with the State Library of New South Wales, whose records note it is now thought to be neither Tasman's work nor from that year. It remains the only first-hand record of the 1644 route.
Freycinet's Map of New Holland has a plate dated An 1808 and comes from his 1812 atlas, held by the National Library of Australia. His 1811 map was the first to show the full Australian coastline, three years ahead of Matthew Flinders.
Hoddle's Plan of Melbourne bears his name and the date 25 March 1837, and State Library Victoria holds the map. The file behind the print is a 20th-century photographic copy.
For an old map of Australia on the wall, start with the full map range. Our Contour & Coast maps are a range of their own.
Admiralty sea charts
Admiralty charts have been made for over 200 years to save and protect lives at sea.
Port Jackson to Port Stephens was published in 1868, and this copy was corrected to February 1873. Moreton Bay dates from 1848. The Great Barrier Reef chart appeared in 1860 and was corrected to 1861, and Matthew Flinders gave the reef its name once he had charted it more closely in 1802. The National Library of Australia holds all three.
Sailors will read them closely, and so will anyone who knows that coast by sight.
Old world and star maps
Abraham Ortelius's Theatrum Orbis Terrarum is considered the first true modern atlas, printed on 20 May 1570 in Antwerp. The vintage world map here comes from that first edition, held by the Library of Congress.
The star atlas of Andreas Cellarius, Harmonia Macrocosmica, was first published in 1660 in Amsterdam by Johannes Janssonius. Its later plates chart the constellations of both skies, and the two hemispheres here come from the 1708 edition, held by the Library of Congress.
The two Cellarius star charts come as a matched pair: one size, one set of options, 10% saved on buying them separately.
Choosing a size and a frame for an old map
Every artwork comes as an art print, a framed print or a canvas, though canvas is not offered on every map.
The art print is unframed archival giclee on 200gsm archival matte paper. A framed print arrives ready to hang in a thin 20 mm frame in oak look, black or white, with perspex at the front and no mount as standard. Canvas is 400gsm on a 38 mm frame with mirrored edges, and no hanging hardware is included.
Not every shape carries every map. A size appears only where the complete map, its lettering and border sit inside it and the file holds enough detail. Framed, a world map opens on 50 x 70 cm. Antique maps of Australia, along with the states and the harbours, open on A3.
A map seldom fills a wall alone, so our wall art range and our vintage posters cover the rest.
Where the maps come from
Every piece is a print made from a file supplied by a named library collection. We crop to the map's own border, even out the paper and remove library stamps and shelf marks, and every engraved line stays. Nothing is redrawn.
Printed in Australia. Delivery Australia wide is $10 standard or $15 express per order, chosen at checkout.
