Geographiae libri octo... ac emendatis per Gerardum Mercatorem

‘When Mercator's Ptolemaeus atlas was reprinted in 1584, this time with texts on verso, this text closely resembles the texts of Ortelius' Nomencalator Ptolemaicus. Mylius dedicates this second edition of Mercator's Ptolemy to Ortelius to express his gratitude and that of Mercator for Ortelius' help’ (M. van den Broecke in: A World of Innovation. Cartography in the Time of Gerhard Mercator, p.172). 

Ortelius named Mercator as 'the Ptolemy of our time', and he engraved these copper plates as part of a cosmography which he planned to publish in five volumes. In the event, the Ptolemaic maps published here, and the four parts of the section of modern maps, were the only works Mercator published before he died in 1594. 

Mercator began his ambitious project of describing the world in all its aspects, with the Ptolemaic maps forming part of one volume devoted to geography (together with sections on modern and historical maps).
The Geographia and four parts of the section of modern maps were the only works Mercator published before he died in 1594.

Mercator's Ptolemaic maps first appeared in Duisburg in 1578 as Tabulae Geographicae Cl: Ptoleme̜i ('The Geographical Tables of Cl. Ptolemy'). Karrow calls this a first edition. Still, as this printing lacked Ptolemy's text (the essence of any Ptolemy since no actual maps by Ptolemy survive), it should be considered a different book. 

This edition of the book - Karrow's second edition, but the first edition to include the body of Ptolemy's work, translated by Pirckheimer and edited by Mylius - was printed in Cologne in 1584. The plates were later passed to Jodocus Hondius, his successor, who issued editions in the early 17th century. In 1694, the plates were auctioned to François Halma (1653 - 1722), who reworked them and published editions in 1695, 1698, and 1704. A final edition was published in 1730 by R. and J. Wetstein and G. Smith. 

Some 20 examples of the 1584 Ptolemy are cataloged in institutional collections. 

Engraved title with a world map, a letterpress dedication to Abraham Ortelius, 28 Ptolemaic maps, complete with the additional single-page map, woodcut initials, diagrams, and typographical ornaments. The map section opens with Mercator's fantastic double-page Ptolemaic world map, which presents the iconic image in a classically Dutch style with strapwork geometry surrounding the winds. This is followed by the traditional suite of ten European maps, five African maps (the Egyptian map is a single-page production), and twelve Asian maps. Descriptive text appears on the recto and sometimes on the verso of the map.

1. Vniversalis tabvla ivxta Ptoemaevm. In qua tres continentis partes, Europa, Africa, & Asia, quatenus ipsius tempore innotuerant, delineatae sunt --
2. Evropae tabvla I. In qua insulae Britannicae duae, Hibernia & Albion cum minoribus adiacentibus describuntur
3. Evropae tabvla II. In qua describuntur Hispaniae, quam Graeci Iberiam vocant, tres prouinciae Baetica, Lusitania, & Tarraconensis
4. Evropae tabvla III. Continet Galliae, Graecis Geltogalatiae, quatuor prouincias, Aquitaniam, Lugdunensem, Belgicam, & Narbonensem
5. Evropa tabvla IIII. Continet Germaniam magnam
6. Evropae tabvla V. Continet Raetiam, Noricum, vtramque Pannoniam & Illyricum
7. Evropae tabvla VI. Continet Itialiam & Cyrnum siue Corsicam insulam
8. Evropae tabvla VII. Continet Sardiniam & Siciliam insulas
9. Evropae tabvla VIII. Continet Samartiam Europae & Tauricum Chersonesum
10. Evropae tabvla IX. Continet Iazyges Metanastas, Daciam, Mysiam superiorem, Mysiam interiorem, & Thraciam
11. Evropae tabvla X. Continens Macedoniam, Epirum, Achaiam cum Euboea insula, Peloponnesum & Cretam insulam
12. Africae tabvla I. Continet ambas Mauritanias, Tingitanam & Caesariensem
13. Africae tabvla II. Continet Africam minorem
14. Africae tabvla III. Continet Cyrenaicam & Aegyptum
15. Appendix III in tabvlae Afr: (showing the Nile Delta)
16. Africae tabvla IIII. Continet Libyam interiorem, Aethiopiam quae sub Aegypto est, & Aethiopiam interiorem
17. Asiae tabvla I. Continet Pontum cum Bithynia, Asiam proprie[m] dictam, Lyciam, Galatiam, Pamphyliam, Cappadociam, Armeniam minorem, & Ciliciam
18. Asiae tabvla II. Continet Sarmatiam Asiaticam
19. Asiae tabvla III. Continet Colchidem, Iberiam, Albaniam, & Armeniam maiorem
20. Asiae tabvla IIII. Continet Cyprum, Syriam, cuius pars est Palestina, quae & Iudaea, Arabiam Petr[a]eam, Mesopotamiam, Arabiam desertam, Babyloniam
21. Asiae tabvla V. Continet Assyriam, Mediam, Susianam, Persidem, Parthiam, Carmaniam desertam
22. Asiae tabvla VI. Continet Arabiam Foelicem & Carmaniam
23. Asiae tabvla VII. Continet Hyrcaniam, Margianam, Bactrianam, Sogdianam, Sacas, & Scythiam intra Imaum
24. Asiae tabvla VIII. Continet Scythiam extra Imaum montem & Sericam
25. Asiae tabvla IX. Continet Ariam, Paropanisum, Drangianam, Arachosiam, & Gedrosiam
26. Asiae tabvla X. In qua continentur India, intra Gangem fluuium
27. Asiae tabvla XI. Continet Indiam extra Gangem & Sinas
28. Asiae tabvla XII. Continet Taprobanam. 

Gerard Mercator (March 5, 1512 - December 2, 1594) was born near Antwerp as Gerard de Cremere in Rupelmonde. He studied Latin, mathematics, and religion in Rupelmonde before his Uncle, Gisbert, a priest, arranged for him to be sent to Hertogenbosch to study under the Brothers of the Common Life. There he was taught by the celebrated Dutch humanist Georgius Macropedius (Joris van Lanckvelt; April 1487 - July 1558). There, he changed his name, adapting the Latin term for 'Merchant', that is 'Mercator'.

He was one of the most outstanding geographers of the 16th century and was already highly appreciated by his contemporaries for his studies of cartography and the invention of a projection system that bears his name. 

He went on to study at the University of Louvain. After some time, he left Louvain to travel extensively, but returned in 1534 to study mathematics under Gemma Frisius (1508 - 1555).  Mercator was accused of heresy in 1552. His accusations were partially due to his Protestant faith and partly due to his travels, which aroused suspicion. After being released from prison with the support of the University of Louvain, he resumed his cartographic work. During this period, he became a close friend to English polymath John Dee (1527 - 1609), who arrived in Louvain in 1548 and maintained a lifelong correspondence with Mercator. 

In 1552 Mercator set himself up as a cartographer in Duisburg and began work on his revised edition of Ptolemy's Geographia. He also taught mathematics in Duisburg from 1559 to 1562. In 1564, he became the Court Cosmographer to Duke Wilhelm of Cleve. During this period, he began to perfect the novel projection for which he is best remembered. The 'Mercator Projection' was first used in 1569 for a massive world map on 18 sheets.