Cart[UNTITLED PTOLEMAIC WORLD MAP]
PTOLEMY, CLAUDIUS (ULM), 1482
CLAUDIUS PTOLEMY, DONNUS NICOLAUS GERMANUS, Ulm [Germany], 1482
This is one of the earliest, rarest, and most beautiful of early printed world maps. It is based on the second-century world concepts of Claudius Ptolemy of Alexandria, commonly regarded as "the father of modern geography," and was updated in Germany thirteen centuries later by Donnus Nicolaus Germanus.
The 1482 woodcut from which this map was printed bears the authorship inscription [in German] of "Johann Schnitzer [carver/woodcutter] of Armszheim," establishing this as the first map to be signed by a mapmaker. The elegant design, gothic lettering, and distinctive hand coloring reflect the high quality of contemporary German woodcut illustration. The only indication of new geographic knowledge is a rudimentary portrayal of Scandinavia.
Printed ten years before Columbus's first voyage to America, the map shows no hint of the New World and retains some early misconceptions such as the southern "Terra Incognita" land bridge connecting Africa to Asia and enclosing the Indian Ocean. As was customary in the fifteenth century, directions are indicated by the twelve Latin-named "wind heads" bordering the map.rn
This is one of the earliest, rarest, and most beautiful of early printed world maps. It is based on the second-century world concepts of Claudius Ptolemy of Alexandria, commonly regarded as "the father of modern geography," and was updated in Germany thirteen centuries later by Donnus Nicolaus Germanus.
The 1482 woodcut from which this map was printed bears the authorship inscription [in German] of "Johann Schnitzer [carver/woodcutter] of Armszheim," establishing this as the first map to be signed by a mapmaker. The elegant design, gothic lettering, and distinctive hand coloring reflect the high quality of contemporary German woodcut illustration. The only indication of new geographic knowledge is a rudimentary portrayal of Scandinavia.
Printed ten years before Columbus's first voyage to America, the map shows no hint of the New World and retains some early misconceptions such as the southern "Terra Incognita" land bridge connecting Africa to Asia and enclosing the Indian Ocean. As was customary in the fifteenth century, directions are indicated by the twelve Latin-named "wind heads" bordering the map.rn
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