Moderna Europae Descriptio / Totius Africae tabula, & descriptio universalis ... /Tabula orientalis regionis, Asiae scilicet extremas ... / Novae Insulae (America) [4 sheets]

MODERNA EUROPAE Descriptio (First Map of the Continent of Europe!) Dimensions: 25,2 x 34 cm.

Fine full color examples of the first printed map of the continent of Europe, from Münster's Geographia. Includes a sailing ship off the Coast of Spain. The map is oriented with south at the top.
Münster's Geographia was a cartographic landmark, including not only Ptolemaic maps, but also a number of landmark modern maps, including the first separate maps of the 4 continents, the first map of England, and the earliest obtainable map of Scandinavia. Münster dominated cartographic publication during the mid-16th Century. Münster is generally regarded as one of the most important map makers of the 16th Century.

TOTIUS AFRICAE TABULA, & descriptio universalis , etiam ultra Ptolemaei limites extensa. Dimensions: 25,5 x 34,3 cm.
A nice full -color example of Münster's map of Africa. The map appeared in Cosmographia universalis (1544-1628), as well as in Munster's other famous work, his version of Ptolemy's Geographia (1540-52). This copy is from the second French edition, the first of which appeared in 1552.

The coastal outline of Africa had only recently been understood by Europeans. Bartolomeo Dias had only rounded the Cape of Good Hope in 1488, while Vasco de Gama reached India by sea a decade later. The cartouche in the lower left details sailing directions from Lusitania (Iberian Peninsula) to Calcutta. The Portuguese caravel in the Gulf of Guinea represents trade and navigation.

The map is richly illustrated with vignettes, including an elephant and tropical birds in southern Africa. In what is today Nigeria and Cameroon, there is a Cyclops or one eyed man, a reference to the fabled tribe of the Monoculi. The map depicts numerous kingdoms, marked by a scepter within a crown. Finally, towns and cities dot the continent, mostly along the northern coast and Nile River. They include Meroë, where the Nubian kings are said to be buried, and Prester John's fabled settlement.

Münster also speculates as to the sources for the Niger and Nile Rivers, as well as places a curious forest in the middle of the Sahara Desert. A desert forest isn't the most interesting geographic feature on the map, however. As John Delaney points out, "One of the intriguing aspects of this map is the loop of the Senegal River, which is shown entering the ocean in today's Gulf of Guinea. Actually, this is the true route of the Niger River, but that fact will not be confirmed until the Lander brothers' expedition in 1830. Strangely, this loop disappeared from subsequent maps of Africa for the next two hundred years."

TABULA ORIENTALIS REGIONIS, ASIAE scilicet extremas complectens rerras & regna (1st Printed Map of Asia) Dimensions: 25,5 x 34,3 cm.
Nice example of this early state of the first printed map of the Asia, by Sebastian Munster, from the 1550 edition of Munster's Cosmographia .
The map shows Asia from the Caspian Sea and Persian Gulf to the Pacific. The Pacific Ocean shows an archipelago of 7448 islands, a forerunner to the better understanding of Southeast Asia, which is largely unrecognizable, although Java Minor and Major, Porne (Borneo), Moluccas and several other islands are named. The map does not include Japan, which appears on the map of America. The northeastern coast of Asia is also omitted. The map also includes a large sea monster and mermaid type creature.
The map first appeared in the 1540 edition of Munster's Geographia.
Although largely based on Ptolemy's work, the map incorporates some of the more recent Portuguese discoveries. The outlines of the Indian subcontinent, between the Indus and the Ganges rivers are now in a more recognizable form, with "Zaylon" (Sri Lanka) correctly shown as an island. The Portuguese outpost sof Goa and Calicut, the first place where Vasco da Gama landed in 1497, are depicted. Further to the east "Taprobana" is also designated as "Sumatra.". The Portuguese trading port of "Malaqua" is shown. Java is depicted as two separate islands. "Moloca," center of the spice island trade and the object of considerable conflict between Spain and Portugal is shown. The resolution of the dispute was the official purpose of Magellan's epic circumnavigation. The treatment of "Cathay" (China) is consistent with the writings of Marco Polo and other Venetian travelers.

NOVAE INSULAE [First Map of the Continent of AMERICA)
Dimensions: 25,5 x 34 cm.
Fine example of Munster's map of America, the earliest map to show all of North and South America in a true continental form.

Münster's map of America is the earliest map to show all of North and South America in a true continental form. The first edition of the map appeared in Munster's Geographia, first published in 1540. However, it was the map's inclusion in the 1544 edition of Munster's Cosmographia that forever caused America to be the name of the New World, perpetuating Waldseemuller's choice of names in a popular and widely disseminated work.

Munster's map is the earliest map to show all of the continent of America and the first to name the Pacific Ocean (Mare Pacificum). The depiction of North America is dominated by one of the most dramatic geographic misconceptions to be found on early maps-the so-called Sea of Verrazzano. The Pacific cuts deeply into North America so that the part of the coastline at this point is a narrow isthmus between two oceans. This was the result of Verrazzano mistaking the waters to the west of the Outer Banks, the long barrier islands along North Carolina as the Pacific. The division of the New World between Spain and Portugal Spain and Portugal is recognized on the map by the Castille and Leon flag planted in Puerto Rico, here called Sciana.

The map includes a host of firsts, too many to include in this description. Includes a very early appearance of the Straits of Magellan, along with his ship Victoria in the Pacific. Earliest appearance of Japan on a map, predating European contact and based solely legends, such as Marco Polo. The Yucatan Peninsula is shown as an Island. Lake Temistan empties into the Caribbean. The map depicts cannibals in South America and names Florida.
Includes an early appearance of the Straits of Magellan, along with his ship Victoria in the Pacific. First appearance of Mare Pacificum on a map. Earliest appearance of Japan on a map, predating European contact and based solely on legend. The Yucatan is shown as an Island. Lake Temistan (unnamed in this state of the map) empties into the Caribbean. The mis-information provided by Verazanno is perpetuated. The map depicts cannibals in South America and names Florida.
The present edition is from the 1572 Latin edition of Munster's Cosmographia.
Sebastien Munster was a linguist and mathematician, who initially taught Hebrew in Heidelberg. He issued his first mapping of Germany in 1529, after which he issued a call for geographical information about Germany to scholars throughout the country. The response was better than hoped for, and included substantial foreign material, which supplied him with up to date, if not necessarily accurate maps, for the issuance of his Geographia in 1540.

More about Sebastian Münster. [+]