Editing Atlas (section)

==History==
[[File:89v_90r_نزهة_المشتاق_Arabe_2221_BNF.jpg|thumb|The Maghreb (south-up) in [[Muhammad al-Idrisi|Muhammad al-Idrisi's]] ''Nuzhat al-Mushtāq'' ({{Lang|ar|نزهة المشتاق في اختراق الآفاق}}), also known as the {{Lang|la|[[Tabula Rogeriana]]}} (12th century).<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Idrīsī |first1=Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Šarīf Abū ʿAbd Allâh al- (1100?-1165?) Auteur du texte |url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b6000547t |title=Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Idrīsī. Nuzhat al-muštāq fī iḫtirāq al-āfāq. |last2=texte |first2=محمد بن محمد الإديسي Auteur du |last3=texte |first3=AL-IDRĪSĪ Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad Auteur du |date=1250–1325 |language=EN}}</ref>]]
[[File:Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, by Abraham Ortelius, World, 1572.jpg|thumb|World map {{Lang|la|[[Theatrum Orbis Terrarum]]}} (''Theatre of the Orb of the World'') by [[Abraham Ortelius]], 1570]]
[[File:Nova et Accuratissima Terrarum Orbis Tabula (J.Blaeu, 1664).jpg|thumb|[[Joan Blaeu]]'s [[world map]], originally prepared by [[Joan Blaeu|Blaeu]] for his ''[[Atlas Maior]]'', published in the first book of the ''[[Atlas Van Loon|Atlas van Loon]]'' (1664).]]
[[File:Banduri, Covens et Mortier and Lisle. Imperii Orientalis et Circumjacentium Regionum.1742.jpg|thumb|''Imperii Orientalis et Circumjacentium Regionum'' by [[Guillaume Delisle]] (1742)]]
[[File:Anglia Atlas.jpg|thumb|Map of England and Wales by Christopher Saxton, ''Atlas of the Counties of England and Wales'', 1579]]
The first work that contained systematically arranged maps of uniform size representing the first modern atlas was prepared by Italian cartographer [[Pietro Coppo]] in the early 16th century; however, it was not published at that time, so it is conventionally not considered the first atlas. Rather, that title is awarded to the collection of maps {{Lang|la|[[Theatrum Orbis Terrarum]]}} by the [[Duchy of Brabant|Brabantian]] cartographer [[Abraham Ortelius]] printed in 1570.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Atlas {{!}} Geography, Cartography, Navigation {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/atlas-maps#ref21651 |access-date=2025-03-27 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

Atlases published nowadays are quite different from those published in the 16th–19th centuries. Unlike today, most atlases were not bound and ready for the customer to buy, but their possible components were shelved separately. The client could select the contents to their liking, and have the maps coloured/gilded or not. The atlas was then bound. Thus, early printed atlases with the same title page can be different in contents.<ref>Jan Smits, Todd Fell (2011). Early printed atlases: shaping Plato's 'Forms' into bibliographic descriptions. In: ''Journal of map & geography libraries : advances in geospatial information, collections & archives'', (ISSN 1542-0353), 7(2011)2, p. 184-210.</ref>

States began producing national atlases in the 19th century.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Short |first=John Rennie |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv2s2pp1m |title=The Rise and Fall of the National Atlas in the Twentieth Century: Power, State and Territory |date=2022 |publisher=Anthem Press |isbn=978-1-83998-304-7 |doi=10.2307/j.ctv2s2pp1m|jstor=j.ctv2s2pp1m |s2cid=250944397 }}</ref>