Map of the Course of the Rhine

Artist or Author: Ptolemy & Sebastian Munster

Work: Geographia

Date of Publication: 1542

Style: Woodcut Engraving

Paper Size: ~ 15 1/2" by 12 1/4"

Condition: The work is in good to excellent condition overall. There may be a few minor imperfections to be expected with age. Please review the image carefully for condition and contact us with any questions.

Description of the work: This fine engraved map is Ptolemy and Sebastian Munster's Geographia. It was published in Basel in 1542 by Heinrich Petri.

Many maps included in Munster's Geographia were based upon Ptolemy's texts which detailed the shape and form of seas and land masses in antiquity. Other maps are based upon modern reckonings of the world. Geographia is also known for including a map of the Americas, which solidified the name for the continents as "America", after the Italian explorer, Amerigo Vespucci, as well as naming the Pacific Ocean and the Magellan Strait, south of modern day Chile & Argentina. Munster's maps were vital to early exploration.

Sebastian Munster (1489-1552) was a German cartographer, cosmographer, and a Hebrew scholar. He also became a Franciscan monk at an early age before leaving the order and converting to the Lutheran Church to accept a position at the University of Basel, where he produced many of his famous works, such as Geographia and Cosmographia Universalis along with Biblical translations.