1550 Munster Leaf Egypt Balsam Coral Pelusium Arsinoe
1550 Description of Egypt and the Red Sea
from "Cosmographia" by Sebastian Münster
Balsam, Coral of the Red Sea,
Pelusium, Arsinoe
Two Woodcut Pictures
Single authentic woodcut leaf from
"Cosmographia" by Sebastian Münster. German edition; Basel printing
house of Sebastian Heinrich-Petri 1550. Book VI ("Von den landern Africe"), pages
Mccxi-Mccxii (1211-2).
Sebastian
Münster (1488-1552) was a German cartographer, cosmographer, and
Hebrew scholar whose Cosmographia (1544; "Cosmography") was the earliest
German description of the world and a major work
- after the Nuremberg Chronicle of 1493 - in the revival of
geographic thought in 16th-century Europe. Altogether, about 40 editions of the
Cosmographia appeared during 1544-1628.
Although other cosmographies predate Münster's, he is given
first place in historical discussions of this sort of publication, and
was a major influence on his subject for over 200 years.
Cosmographia contained not
only the latest maps and views of many well-known cities, but included
an encyclopaedic amount of detail about the known - and unknown - world
and undoubtedly must have been one of the most widely read books of its
time. Aside from the well-known maps and views present in the
Cosmographia (including
the first separate printed map of the Western Hemisphere),
the text is thickly sprinkled with vigorous woodcuts:
portraits of kings and princes, costumes and occupations, habits and
customs, flora and fauna, monsters and horrors.
Of about 20 German editions of the Cosmographia, the 1550 edition
is the most valued.
Click here for the title page of the 1550
German edition
(not included).
Click here for more information about Münster
and Cosmographia, including the content and
list of editions and artists
This most interesting authentic
leaf from the 1550 German edition of Cosmographia is devoted
to Egypt.
Page 1211 talks about balsam and the corals of the Red Sea.
Thereafter follows a section on
Pelusium (also called
Damiata or Damiette), an ancient Egyptian city on the easternmost mouth of the Nile River
(long silted up). The Egyptians likely called it Sa'inu and also Per-Amon (House of
Amon), whence perhaps the site's modern name, Tell Farama. It lies about 20 miles
southeast of Port Said, in the Sinai Peninsula. In the Bible the city is called
(Ezekiel 30:15) "the stronghold of Egypt" (the name being given in the King James
Version as Sin, transliterated from the Hebrew).
The last section describes Fayum (Fayyum),
a town in Egypt
called Shedet in pharaonic times and Crocodilopolis, later Arsinoe, in the Ptolemaic and
Roman periods. Sobek (Sebek), a crocodile-god, was worshipped in
Crocodilopolis, where the reptiles were kept in pools and
adorned with jewels.
The leaf contains
two woodcut pictures:
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A balsam plant
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A view of Pelusium
See scans for more details; click image to view larger version.
Page measures 8.3 x 12.8 inches. Wide margins suitable
for framing. Printed on quality laid paper.
The leaf is in fair condition.
Imperfections: several brownish stains, wormholes; minor handling in margins.
This is a rare and exceptionally interesting historical document which
will look great with a mat and frame.
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This item is unconditionally guaranteed to be original and as described. We do not sell reproductions or
copies.
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I am a member of
the International Map Collectors' Society (IMCoS)
and
the Washington Map Society.
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contact me
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