1574 – S. Munster – Sumatra

Title:                     “Sumatra ein grosse Insel, so von den alten Geographen Taprobana, ist genent worden”​
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Description:

A nice map of island of Tabrobana, which was variously thought to be Ceylon or Sumatra. This map depicts Ceylon with the typical misconceptions of Ptolemy showing a small part of India incorrectly in the northeast corner of the map.
To the left of the map a cartouche with explanatory text in 10 lines about pepper and above the most interesting feature large engraving of an elephant beneath a tree that was copied from Gastaldi. The elephant is shown with large padded feet and a scoop on the end of its trunk.
Map comes from the German edition of Sebastian Münster’s Cosmography, titled “Cosmographey oder beschreibung aller Länder”, published 1574 by Heinrich Petri in Basel. The woodblock of this map was used first in Münster’s ‘Geographia Universalis’ in 1540.​

Cartographer:      Sebastian Munster​ (1488 – 1552)
Engraving size:       26,0 x 34,5 cm
Year:                  1574
Technique:           woodblock

Condition:
In good condition. Centrefold reinforced for protective reasons, some stains to margins, verso with contemporary handwritten annotations.

This is a original antique map published in 1574 and not a modern copy or reprint!