Acquired From: Leen Helmink
Colouring: Uncoloured
Condition: Excellent
Confirmed: 2/10/2024
Date Acquired: 5/9/2016
Dealers ID No.: 6705
Description: In 1513 and 1520, Martin Waldseemüllers Geography was published in Strasbourg by Johann Schott, containing twenty-seven Ptolemaic maps and twenty modern maps. In 1522, Johann Grüninger acquired the woodblocks used for Waldseemüllers maps from Schott to produce a smaller-format edition of the atlas. This new edition was edited by Lorenz Fries, who reduced and simplified the original maps while adding three new ones to reflect contemporary discoveries: this map of Southeast Asia (Tabula moderna Indiae orientalis), a map of China (Tabula superioris Indiae et Tartariae majoris), and a world map (Orbis typus universalis iuxta hydrographorum traditionem exactissime depicta, View Record (#359)) nThe geographical content of these new maps was largely derived from Waldseemüllers 1507 wall map of the world, the Universalis cosmographia. In adopting this source, Fries departed from traditional Ptolemaic geography, most notably by rejecting the belief in an enclosed Indian Ocean. By 1522, it was understood that no landmass connected southern Africa to Asia, reflecting knowledge gained through Portuguese maritime exploration.nDespite this significant correction, the revision remained partial. Following Waldseemüllers 1507 depictionultimately inspired by Henricus Martelluss c.1490 world mapFries truncated the landmass south of India extra Gangem (India beyond the Ganges), creating a large inward-curving peninsula extending south of the Tropic of Capricorn and labelled India meridionalis (Southern India). The elongated peninsula and the arrangement of the East Indian islands closely mirror those shown on Waldseemüllers earlier map.nFries closely followed Waldseemüllers framework in retaining key toponyms and inscriptions, including Moabar provincia and Lac regnum along the eastern coast, Coilu reg at the southern extremity, and Loac regnum on the eastern shore. The inscriptions accompanying the six principal islands likewise correspond closely to those on Waldseemüllers 1507 world map and ultimately derive from the travel accounts of Marco Polo . From west to east, these islands are identified as Seylam (Sri Lanka), Peutam (Bintan), Java Minor (Sumatra), Necura (Nicobar Islands), Angama (Andaman Islands), and Java Maior (Java). nWhile the textual descriptions remain unchanged from earlier sources, Fries introduced a striking visual detail on Angama, depicting anthropophagi preparing a feastan element absent from Waldseemüllers original map.nWithin ''Updating the Classical World'', this map demonstrates how early sixteenth-century cartographers corrected major classical errors while continuing to rely on inherited geographic structures and authoritative texts.nFor other maps by Fries in this collection, see nos. View Record (#1), View Record (#3), View Record (#70), #89 and View Record (#359)
First published: Geographia Strasbourg: Johann Grüninger, 1522
Image Size (cm): 31 x 43
Mapmaker: Fries, Lorenz (ca. 1490-1532)
Notes: ex Sanderus
Other states: Second 1525 (Strasbourg), Third 1535 (Lyon) and Fourth 1541 (Vienne, Dauphiné)
Price: 7,600
Primary Category: Southeast Asia
Purchase Reference: Ledger 2022
Rarity: R1 Extremely rare – occasionally seen on the market
References: Karrow (1993), Lorenz FriesnFor a discussion on the islands on this map, see Suárez (1999), Early Mapping of Southeast Asia,
Sheet size (cm): 38.2 x 53.5
Technique: Woodcut
This state: First
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