A Wonderful First Edition of Ptolemy's Geographia
Printed in Venice 1597/1598 - The First Edition in Italian
A Fine Folio - Bound in Full Vellum
With the Maps of Magini both Ancient and Modern
[ATLAS]; Ptolemy, Translated from the Latin by R. D. Leonardo Cernoti Vinitiano PTOLOMAEUS- MAGINI. Geografia cio descrittione universale della Terra partita in due volumi, nel Primo de quali si contengono gli otto libri della Geografia di Tolomeo, nuovamente con singolare studio rincontrati & corretti...da Gio. Antonio MAGINI Padovano. Venice Gio Batt. e Giorgio Galignani Fratelli 1597
First Edition in Italian of Ptolemy prepared by Magini, the famous Padovan cosmographer and mathematician. A very fine impression with historiated initials and ornate geographical figures. 64 beautiful geographical maps of the ancient world of Ptolomy as well as of the modern world. Folio, (290x220 mm.), bound in the 1600's in fine rigid white vellum, title and author on the spine in manuscript calligraphy. ff. (2), 62, 21, 14; 212, (30) A wonderful copy, very fine and a complete example with all of the maps of the world. A really splendid example in a very correct binding.
A SUPERB COPY OF THIS VERY IMPORTANT BOOK. RARELY ENCOUNTERED IN THIS CONDITION. The book is comprised of 33 maps of Europe, 20 of Asia, 6 of Africa, 1 of America and 4 of the world. The book constitutes the fundamental compendium of the know geography of the world to the end of the sixteenth century. The work is systemitized for easy use and consultation. And this is the best of Magini's editions appearing here in folio format. A beautiful example, fresh and clean and with grand margins and the vellum in an excellent state of condition.
Claudius Ptolemy is best remembered for his rejection of Aristarchus's theory that the earth revolves around the sun, developing a geocentric belief that prevailed for 1400 years after his death. Even now Ptolemy's influence can still be felt. Twentieth century navies still find it more convenient to navigate by Ptolemaic astronomy, and every day we speak of the rising and setting of the sun rather than the turning of the Earth (Wilford, The Mapmakers, p. 25). The long introduction includes an exhaustive gazetteer of places known to Ptolemy and the ancients and a discussion of how to make the practice of cartography more systematic, more scientific. This was the first known recounting of the rules of scientific mapmaking (Ibid.).
$US25500
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