| Method | Woodcut |
| Artist | Bordone, Benedetto |
| Published | [Venice, 1528] |
| Dimensions | 135 mm x 140 mm recto, 230 x 155 mm verso |
| Notes |
The first printing of Bordone's woodcut pair of maps of the British Isles, from his famous Isolario ('Book of Islands'). The maps, some of the very earliest printed depictions of the British Isles, show a Ptolemaic projection on the verso and a 'modern' projection on the recto. The modern map shows England and Wales with a large stretch of the continental coast. The southernmost part of Scotland is shown at top, and Ireland's eastern coast is also included. Although a number of cities are plotted, only three are labelled: London (Lonara), Dover (Dobla), and Southampton (Antona). On the European mainland, Utrecht, Calais, Rouen, and Paris are plotted, with Holland, Picardy, Normandy, and Brittany also labelled. A simple compass is also included, centred roughly on London. The Ptolemaic projection on the verso is much larger, though includes much less of the Irish coast. Cornwall is exaggerated, Scotland is shown in full in its characteristic right angle from England, and locations are given their classical names, though London and Lugdunem (Lyon) are the only cities labelled. Benedetto Bordone (1460-1531) was an Italian cartographer, author, and miniaturist. Born in the university town of Padua, and active as a publisher in Venice, Bordone is chiefly remembered for his Isolario of 1528, a work detailing the history, geography, mythology, climate, and position of the islands of the world. The book, featuring woodcut illustrations of most of the islands mentioned in the text, was intended as a guide for sailors, and was one of the first works to provide widely accessible details of the lands of the New World. Among the most important of Bordone's contributions to cartography are his pre-Columbian plan of the Aztec Capital Tenochtitlan, the first western printed map of Japan as an island, and the use of an oval-from world map. Shirley 19 & 20. Condition: Staining and foxing to edges of sheet, including a large waterstain to spine edge of sheet. Binders creases along spine edge of sheet. |
| Framing | unmounted |
| Price | £775.00 |
| Stock ID | 51853 |