179. Ptolemaeus, Claudius: Tabula Moderna Prussie, Livonie, Norvegie et Gottie

Rome, 1507. Bernardinus Venetus de Vitalibus
Extremely rare map depicting Northern Europe – the second-earliest printed map of Scandinavia and the first copper-engraved map of the region. Its cartographic model derives from the manuscript regional map of the Benedictine monk Nicolaus Germanus, who introduced several cartographic innovations, including the use of dots and circles to mark settlements and the application of dotted boundary lines. Following the 1482 and 1486 woodcut editions of Ptolemy’s Geography printed in Ulm, this map appeared in the 1507 Roman copperplate edition of In hoc Operae Haec Contine[n]tur Geographia Cl. Ptholemaei..., edited by Marco Beneventano after he had revised the Latin text of Jacobus Angelus’s translation of the Geography in collaboration with Joannes Cota of Verona. The copper engravings – which far surpass the earlier woodcut variants in precision and richness of detail – were executed by Konrad Sweynheim, who had previously worked in Gutenberg’s workshop (see our previous item). In addition to the Scandinavian Peninsula, the map also depicts the Baltic region, the British Isles and Iceland. It identifies numerous cities, including Oslo (Asto), Bergen (Begensis), Trondheim (Nodrosia), as well as Gdańsk (Dantzg), Riga, and Szczecin (Stetin) along the northern coast of Europe. The 1507 Roman Ptolemy atlas is unique in that it is the only edition to include all six “modern” maps alongside the twenty-seven classical Ptolemaic ones. Among them, the Scandinavian sheet is particularly scarce and highly prized, as it represents a cartographic milestone that served as the foundation for Northern European mapping for more than half a century. The vast majority of surviving examples are preserved in major public collections, and copies rarely appear at auction.
Dimensions: 405 × 575 mm. In well-preserved condition, with minor restoration at the lower blank margin, and a few light stains in the lower part of the sheet.
Ginsberg, William B.: Printed Maps of Scandinavia & the Arctic 1482-1601 (New York, 2006.) 4.
 
Starting price: 1 600 000,-