La Seconde Table Generale Selon Ptol

Acquired From: Leen Helmink

Colouring: Uncoloured

Condition: Excellent

Confirmed: 3/10/2024

Date Acquired: 9/3/2021

Dealers ID No.: 18787

Description: Sebastian Münster was a German mapmaker, cosmographer and professor of Hebrew at the University of Basel. Among his notable works was the Latin edition of Claudius Ptolemys Geography, first published in Basel in 1540. This edition included twenty-seven Ptolemaic maps, including the Typus orbis a Ptol. Descriptus, which employed Ptolemys second projection, alongside twenty-one modern maps. Münsters Geography was reprinted in Latin in 1542, 1545, and 1552. nFour years after the release of his Geography, Münster published Cosmographia: Beschreibung aller Länder (commonly known as Cosmographia universalis), a more expansive and comprehensive work incorporating broader geographical, historical, and cultural content. Initially published in German in 1544, it was later translated into several languages, including Latin, French, Italian, and Czech, with editions produced between 1544 and 1578. Münsters grandson, Sebastian Petri, later revised and reissued the Cosmographia from1588 to 1628. nThe 1552 French edition of Cosmographia includes this map titled La Seconde Table Generale Selon Ptol, which corresponds to the Typus orbis a Ptol. Descriptus found in Münster's earlier Geography. Based on Ptolemaic principles, it reflects the second-century understanding of the world. Europe is positioned in the upper left, while North Africa dominates the lower left, with two major river systems depicted: the Niger, flowing from the Atlantic, and the Nile. In contrast to Münsters modern world maps (#90 and #91), which show the Niles source as two lakes and the Mountains of the Moon, this Ptolemaic map features three lakes.nIn this map, the southern part of Africa extends eastward, connecting with Asia to form a vast southern landmass enclosing the Indian Ocean. The region is labeled Terra incognita secundum Ptolemaeum (Unknown Land According to Ptolemy). The Indian Ocean prominently features the island of Taprobana, while India is divided into India intra Gangem (India within the Ganges) and India extra Gangem (India beyond the Ganges), reflecting classical geographical concepts.

First published: Münster, Sebastian Cosmographei oder beschreibung aller länder…, Basel: Heinrich Petri, 1544

Image Size (cm): 34.5×25.3

Mapmaker: Münster, Sebastian (1488-1552)

Other states: First 1544 (German)

Price: 750

Primary Category: World

Purchase Reference: Ledger 2022

Rarity: R3 Uncommon – dealers can usually obtain a copy

References: Karrow, Mapmakers of the Sixteenth Century and Their Maps, pg 422, 58/74;

Sheet size (cm): 40×31

Shirley ID #: 76 Mapping the World

Technique: Woodcut

This state: 1552, French

Website: Click here