Lienhart Holles 1482 Ulm edition of Cosmographia marked

Acquired From: Gowrie Galleries

Colouring: Coloured

Condition: Very Good

Confirmed: Yes

Date Acquired: 2006

Dealers ID No.: M646/1 (STK 1167.01)

Description: Lienhart Holles 1482 Ulm edition of Cosmographia marked a pivotal moment in European cartography. Ptolemy, a second-century Alexandrian astronomer and geographer, authored this practical guide for mapping the world. Divided into eight books, it provided instructions for projecting the Earths sphere onto a flat surface, a list of over 8,000 locations with their geographic coordinates, and a method for dividing the world into twenty-six regional maps.nPtolemys Geography gained prominence in Western Europe following its translation from Greek into Latin by Jacopo Angeli da Scarperia in early fifteenth-century Florence. While initially circulated in manuscript form, the advent of moveable type enabled its wider dissemination. The German mapmaker Nicolaus Germanus produced several manuscript copies of his interpretation, one of whichthe Codex Wolfegg (1468)served as a source for Holles 1482 edition.nHolles publication proved financially challenging, leading to his bankruptcy within two years. His printing materials were seized by his patron, Justi de Albano, who subsequently commissioned a second edition from the Ulm printer Johann Reger in 1484. This edition, completed in 1486, reused the original woodblocks but is distinguished by the colouring of the seas: blue in the first edition and light brown in the second, as seen on this map. Inscribed above the map is: Insculptum est per Johannem Schnitzer de Armszheim (Engraved by Johann, woodcutter from Armsheim).nPtolemaic world maps are notable for their use of latitude and longitude lines to create a grid of the Earths surface, and for their employment of map projections. Following Nicolauss manuscript, Holles map utilised Ptolemys second cloak projection, in which both latitude and longitude lines are curved. In the second century, the known world included Europe, North Africa, and Asia, extending 180 in longitude from the Fortunate Islands in the west to Serica and Cattigara in the east. In latitude, it stretched from Thule at 63 north to anti-Meroë at 1625 south. Greenland appears beyond Ptolemys southern limits, rendered as a wedge-shaped peninsula. The map acknowledges the limits of Ptolemaic knowledge with the inscription Terra incognita secundum Ptolemæum (Unknown land according to Ptolemy), while the equator and tropics are marked in redthough the Tropic of Capricorn is mislabelled.nAnother distinctive feature of Ptolemaic cartography is the depiction of a landlocked Indian Ocean (Mare Indicum). Ptolemy believed it was enclosed by land extending from southern Africa to eastern Asia. The map also includes the Sinus Magnus (Great Gulf), located between the east coast of Asia and the peninsula labelled Aurea Chersonesus, as well as the Sinus Gangeticus (Gulf of the Ganges). Central to the Indian Ocean is the large island of Taprobana, depicted as surrounded by numerous smaller islands. A note on the map claims Taprobana is encircled by 1,378 known islands.nNorth Africa appears as a vast landmass featuring two major river systems: the Niger and the Nile. Ptolemy believed the Niger flowed west to east, connecting two lakesthe Nigrite palus and the Libie palus. The Nile is shown running south to north, its source located in the Montes Lunae (Mountains of the Moon), where multiple streams converge from the southern lakes before flowing into the Mediterranean.nTwelve windheads, each identified by name and enclosed in a scroll, surround the map and reflect classical wind theory.

Engraver: Schnitzer de Armszheim, Johanne

First published: Cosmographia. Edited by Nicolaus Germanus, Ulm: Lienhart Holle, 1482

Image Size (cm): 55×40

Mapmaker: Anonymous (Johanne Schnitzer de Armszheim)

Notes: Purchase details-year

Other states: First 1482

Price: A265,000 plus gst

Primary Category: World

Purchase Reference: Email 15 May 2006

Rarity: R1 Extremely rare – occasionally seen on the market

References: Skelton, Cosmographia, Ulm, 1482.

Shirley ID #: 10 Mapping the World

Technique: Woodcut

This state: 1486, Second