Stock ID #155986 Die Erst General Tafel/Die Beschreibung und den Circkel des gantzen Erdtichs und Meeres innhaltende. SEBASTIAN MUNSTER.
Die Erst General Tafel/Die Beschreibung und den Circkel des gantzen Erdtichs und Meeres innhaltende.

Die Erst General Tafel/Die Beschreibung und den Circkel des gantzen Erdtichs und Meeres innhaltende.

Basle. [ 1614]. Stock ID #155986

Black and white woodcut map of the world, relief shown pictorially, decorative border, text on verso: Die Erst Landtafel..., printed surface measures 32 x 36cm and sheet 33.3 x 42cm, a 2 - 2.5cm strip of contemporary paper runs along lower edge the whole measuring 35 x 42cm. Browning, surface a little abraded in two small places. Good copy.

Die Erst General Tafel... was first published in Munster's Cosmographia in 1544. Cosmographia, a very early German description of the world, was a very popular work running to many editions in German, as well as translations into Latin, French, English, Italian and Czech.

This interesting depiction of the world as seen from the perspective of information available in the 16th century shows the vast expanse of Terra Australis Non Dum Cognita (the southern land not yet known) along the bottom of the map. The nomenclature of Marco Polo is used extensively on the map including on the two northern pointing peninsulas, roughly where Australia is today the words Beach, Lucaoh and Maletur are printed on one and above the second, Java Minor. Persia, India and Orientalis are shown as regions in Asia with Mongol, China, Cathai (a term used by Marco Polo for northern China), Quinsai (modern day Hangzhou described by Marco Polo as "without fail the most important city and the best there is in all the world"), Japan, Calecut (modern day Kozhikode in the Indian State of Kerala), Sumatra and Java also named.

When referring to this item please quote stockid 155986.

Price: $1,500.00 AU

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