SYRIA CYPERN PALASTINA MESOPOTAMIA BABYLONIA
£275
Attractive early woodcut map of the eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East. Covering the area between northern Syria and the Red Sea, with Cyprus, the Holy Land, Jordan and parts of the Iraq. On verso a title surrounded by a beautiful woodcut border.
From the German edition of Sebastian Münster's Cosmography, titled Cosmographey oder beschreibung aller Länder, published by Heinrich Petri in Basel.
Hand colour
Very good condition for this scarce early map
code : M4381
Cartographer : Sebastian Munster
Date : 1550c Basel
Size : 25.5*34.5 cms
availability : Available
Price : £275
Originally a scholar studying Hebrew, Greek and mathematics, Sebastian Munster (1489-1552) eventually specialised in mathematical geography and cartography. It was this double ability - as a classicist and mathematician - that was to prove invaluable when Munster set himself to preparing new editions of Solinus’ “Memorabilia” and Mela’s “De Situ Orbis”, two classical descriptive geographies containing maps, and his own two greatest works, the “Geographia” and “Cosmographia”. These reflect the widespread interest in classical texts, which were being rediscovered in the fifteenth century, and being disseminated in the later fifteenth and sixteenth century, through the new medium of printing.
The “Geographia” was a translation of Ptolemy’s landmark geographical text, compiled in about 150 AD., illustrated with maps based on Ptolemy’s calculations, but also, in recognition of the increased geographical awareness, contains a section of modern maps. In the first edition of the “Geographia”, Munster included 27 ancient Ptolemaic maps and 21 modern maps, printed from woodblocks. Subsequent editions of the “Cosmographia” were to contain a vast number of maps and plans.
One consequence of Munster’s work was the impetus it gave to regional mapping of Germany, but Munster was also the first cartographer to produce a set of maps of the four continents on separate maps. Most importantly, through his books (the “Geographia” and “Cosmographia” alone ran to over forty editions in six languages), Munster was responsible for diffusing the most up-to-date geographical information throughout Europe.
