| Method | Woodcut |
| Artist | Münster, Sebastian |
| Published | [Basel, c.1550] |
| Dimensions | 125 x 158 mm |
| Notes |
A mid-sixteenth century woodcut map of the continent of Africa, excluding the Cape of Good Hope, from a Latin edition of Munster's celebrated Cosmographia and is one of the first printed maps of Africa. The continent is shown with reference to the latest discoveries, rather than on a Ptolemaic model. The straits of Gibraltar and Kingdom of Fez are greatly exaggerated, while southern Africa is truncated, and contains the putative 'Mountains of the Moon' as a source for the Nile. The kingdom of Meroe, roughly equable with the ancient Kushite dynasties that controlled modern Sudan, is shown as a large island between two branches of the Nile, while Alexandria is shown as a city icon on the northern coast. The Canaries are shown pictorially, but the Cape Verde islands are included only as text off the coast of the Gambia. Above the map, a small inset depiction of Mt Etna in full volcanic eruption accompanies a description of Sicily, while the verso features a large woodcut image of African animals, including an elephant, a rhinoceras, a unicorn, a bear, a monkey, and what appears to be a giraffe atop a hill in the distance. Sebastian Münster (20th January 1488 - 26th May 1552) was a German cartographer, cosmographer, and theologian. A gifted scholar of Hebraic, Münster originally joined the Franciscans, but left the order in favour of the Lutheran Church. He was appointed to the University of Basel in 1529, and published a number of works in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. His most celebrated works are his Latin edition of Ptolemy's Geographia in 1540, and the Cosmographia in 1544. The Cosmographia was the earliest German description of the world, an ambitious work of 6 volumes published in numerous editions in German, Latin, French, Italian, and Czech. Condition: Latin titles and text above, below, and on verso. Small blank printer's spot at bottom right of map. |
| Framing | unmounted |
| Price | £280.00 |
| Stock ID | 45775 |