Wytfliet, Cornelius

Cornelius Wytfliet (1555-1597) was a Flemish cartographer who flourished at the end of the 16^th century and was the first, in 1597, to produce an atlas devoted solely to the Americas. He is reported to have favoured the said America as Atlantis. Little else is known about him. One of only nine known copies of the atlas was stolen a few years ago but was recovered and returned to its rightful owner, the Royal Library of Sweden^(a). However, the theft did have a tragic ending for the thief^(b).

^(a) http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/27/books/swedish-royal-library-recovers-stolen-1597-atlas-in-new-york.html?_r=0

^(b) http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/17824