Gerard de Jode (1508(?)-1591) was a native of Nijmegen. He began his career as a printer and engraver in Antwerp about 1550. He lived near the Bourse on the Catelijne Veste, or on "de Catte". He was in regular contact with Christoffel Plantin, to whom he sold many prints and maps. De Jode's business, which must have been a major one among Antwerp's many booksellers and printers, was represented at the Frankfurt fair, where de Jode bought maps that he later copied or resold. 

Most of the maps sold by De Jode have prototypes of Italian or German origin. Apart from his numerous separately published maps, Gerard de Jode is best known for his atlas, Speculum Orbis Terrarum, which was published in 1578. Part of the engraving was done by himself, and part by brothers Jan and Lucas van Doetecum.

Gerard de Jode and Abraham Ortelius, who both worked as map sellers, were competitors and often had strained relations. 

After the death of Gerard de Jode in 1591, the business was carried on by his widow, Pascale van Gelder and his son, Cornelis (1568-1600). More a publisher than an engraver, the latter reissued the Speculum in 1593, adding new maps and revising others. Despite all its deficiencies, the Speculum must have had a good reputation. 

• Maps by de Jode for sale