Das gantz Franckreich..Belgica und Celtica. . .

This fine and beautifully hand colored original antique map of modern contemporary France in the mid 16th century was published by Sebastian Münster in the 1550's. Date of first edition: 1540. Sebastian Münster (1488-1552).

Sebastian Münster, a German geographer, cartographer, Hebraist, and theologian, was born in Ingelheim, near Mainz. In 1505, he went to Heidelberg to enter the Franciscan order.
In 1507, he went to Louvain, where he studied mathematics, geography, and astronomy. In 1509 Münster became a student of Konrad Pelikan, who taught Hebrew and Greek as well as mathematics and cosmography. In 1518 he completed his studies at the University of Tübingen. He was the favourite of the famous mathematician and astronomer Johann Stöffler.
In 1524 Münster was appointed professor of Hebrew at Heidelberg University. In 1525 he published his first map as part of a broadside: 'The Instrument of the Suns'; combining a map, calendar, astrological almanac, sundial, and nocturnal on one attractive sheet, suitable for wall mounting.
In 1540 he published a Latin edition of Ptolemy's 'Geographia' with illustrations. He based this edition on the Latin translation by Willibald Pirkheimer and produced new maps to supplement the Ptolemaic maps. The twenty-seven maps of the Ptolemaic canon are supplemented by twenty-one new maps.
Further editions appeared in 1541 and 1542.

In 1544, he published the 'Cosmographia', a bulky book with 659 pages and some 520 woodcuts. Maps in this edition included three maps from the Ptolemaic canon and fourteen modern maps (from previous editions of the 'Geographia'), as well as nine new maps.
Later editions (1545, 1546, 1548) enlarged the 'Cosmographia'. The 1550 edition contains cities, portraits, and costumes. These editions in both Latin and German constitute the full fruition of Münster's dream of a comprehensive geography.
The 'Cosmographia' was one of the most successful works of the 16th century. It passed through 24 editions in 100 years, in different languages, including Latin, French, Italian, English, and even Czech. The last German edition was published in 1628He died in Basel of the plague in 1552.
As a cartographer, Münster deserves special recognition for formulating a plan for a comprehensive and uniform map of a country. As a geographer, his greatest achievement was the 'Cosmographia'. (Karrow).

Reference: Karrow