1567 Munster Leaf North Africa Carthage Tunis Maghrib
1567 Description of North Africa
from "Cosmographia" by Sebastian Münster
Africa Minor, Maghrib, Carthage, Tunis
One woodcut picture
Single authentic woodcut leaf from
"Cosmographia" by Sebastian Münster. German edition; Basel printing
house of Sebastian Heinrich-Petri 1567. Book VI ("Von de land Africa"), pages
Mccccxxxi-Mccccxxxii (1431-2).
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 authentic leaf from the German edition of Cosmographia
is devoted to North Africa.
The first section talks about Maghrib (also spelled Maghreb) - region of
North Africa bordering the Mediterranean Sea. The Africa Minor of the
ancients, it at one time included Moorish Spain and now comprises
essentially the Atlas Mountains and the coastal plain of Morocco,
Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya. The text mentions Mauritania, Carthage,
Elissa (Dido, in Greek legend, the reputed founder of Carthage),
and Cartagena (New Carthage, Spain). Thereafter follows a section on
the Punic Wars.
The second section on p. 1432 deals with the kingdom of Tunis and its history.
It first talks about the
Vandal and Byzantine periods. In AD 439 the Vandal ruler Gaiseric
("Genseric") entered almost unopposed and plundered the city.
Carthage, after its capture by the Arabs in 705, was totally eclipsed by
the new town of Tunis.
The leaf contains
one woodcut picture of a coat-of-arms.
See pictures for more details; click image to view larger version.
Page measures 8.2 x 12.1 inches.
Printed on laid paper.
The leaf is in good condition.
Imperfections: age toning; faint staining 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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