1552 Munster Leaf China Marco Polo Huang-Ho Pekin
1552 Description of China
from "Cosmographia" by Sebastian Münster
Marco Polo, the Grand Khan, Cambaluc, Huang-ho, Quingianfu
Three Woodcut Pictures
Single authentic woodcut leaf from
"Cosmographia" by Sebastian Münster. French edition; Basel printing
house of Sebastian Heinrich-Petri 1552. Book IV, pages
1351/2.
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.
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 early French edition of Cosmographia is devoted to China.
In his description of China, Münster relied largely on Marco Polo's book
Il milione ("The Million"), known in
English as the "Travels of Marco Polo".
He refers to China as Cathay - the
name by which North China was known in medieval Europe. The word is derived from
Khitay (or Khitan), the name of a seminomadic people who left southeastern Mongolia
in the 10th century AD to conquer part of Manchuria and northern China, which they
held for about 200 years. By the time of Genghis Khan (died 1227), the Mongols had
begun referring to North China as Kitai and South China as "Mangi".
Page 1351 lists the major cities of China, talks about customs and habits
of local people, and
describes the royal city of the great khan in China
at Cambaluc (Kambalu), near Peking ("Cambalu").
Page 1096 (bottom) deals with the provinces of the Empire. Here,
Münster closely follows follows the text by the Polos. He describes the huge
river of Caromoran (Huang-ho, Yellow River)
as well as the cities of Tainfu (Ka-chan-fu) and Quenquinafu
(Quingianfu).
In "The Travels of Marco Polo the Venetian" (Thomas Wright), one can find
more details about Caromoran:
Kara-moran, (...) which is of such magnitude, both in respect to width
and depth, that no solid bridge can be upon it. Its waters are
discharged into the ocean, as shall hereafter be more particularly
mentioned.
The leaf contains three woodcut pictures:
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A coat of arms
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A woman exposing her rear end
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A horseman crossing a bridge
See scans
for more details; click image to view larger version.
Page measures 7.2 x 10.8 inches.
Printed on laid paper.
The pictures are in very good condition.
The leaf is in fair/good condition.
Imperfections: margins trimmed; an old candle wax spot in side margin.
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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about this item, please
contact me
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