Munster

Tabula Asiae VIII

      1545 Excelente condicion a pesar de la edad del mapa, sin color, con perdidas en los margenes. Descripcion de Asia central, a partir de Geographia Universalis. Incluye regiones del Tibet y Nepal. Es quizas uno de los mapas de Munster a partir de la proyeccion de Ptolomeo, mas interesantes. Esta decorado con imagenes de criaturas humanoides imaginarias que senalan las zonas no habitadas, sacadas de escritos clasicos, leyendas medievales e historias de viajeros. En la parte superior se muestran escenas canibales ( Anthropophagi). Fascinating map of Central Asia and the regions of Tibet and Nepal is one of the Munster's Ptolemaic maps. The map is flanked by depictions of fantastic humanoids reported to inhabit the region. Ref: Mickwitz & Miekkavaara #215-24; Campbell 'Earliest Printed Maps' pp. 135-8; Nordenskiold 199; Norwich no. 1; Shirley 'Atlases in the BL' T.Ptol-4a. Sebastian Munster was born in 1488 at Ingelheim near Mainz and died in 1552 at Basel. He was a cartographer, cosmographer, and a Hebrew scholar. His work, the "Cosmographia" from 1544 was the earliest German description of the world. It had numerous editions in different languages including Latin, French (translated by Francois de Belleforest), Italian, English, and even Czech. The last German edition was published in 1628, long after his death. The "Cosmographia" was one of the most successful and popular books of the 16th century. It passed through 24 editions in 100 years. This success was due to the fascinating woodcuts (some by Hans Holbein the Younger, Urs Graf, Hans Rudolph Manuel Deutsch, and David Kandel). It was most important in reviving geography in 16th century Europe. Munster had been appointed to the University of Basel in 1527. As Professor of Hebrew, he edited the Hebrew Bible, accompanied by a Latin translation. In 1540 he published a Latin edition of Ptolemy's Geographia with illustrations. The 1550 edition contains cities, portraits, and costumes. These editions, printed in Germany, are the most valued of the Cosmographias. Munster also wrote the Dictionarium trilingue in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew and Mappa Europae (map of Europe) in 1536.. Very Good. 34.3x25,9 Cm.