Theodore de Bry. The New World. 45th Ed.

When Flemish engraver and publisher Theodore de Bry issued the first volume of his America series in 1590, the New World was truly novel for most Europeans. Gleaned from the travel accounts of adventurers like Thomas Harriot, Sir Francis Drake, and Sir Walter Raleigh, De Bry’s magnificent engravings brought the new continent and its inhabitants to an enraptured audience across the Atlantic.

From “Virginia” (today’s North Carolina) and Florida to Central America and down into Patagonia, the f...