Hordern House

APIANUS, Petrus Cosmographia introductio... Venice, Sabiensis 1551

16mo., several woodcut illustrations; a fine copy in contemporary vellum, slightly bowed, (despite numbering of leaves, collates as complete).

Rare early edition, in the popular shortened format, of Apianus' hugely influential work on cosmography, an early geographical text with numerous woodcuts of the earth, the Zodiac, and examples of determining longitude and latitude. The text neatly summarises the Renaissance world view, and includes several references to Amerigo Vespucci's discovery of America. The book is notable for 'the division of the earth into climatic zones, the uses of parallels and meridians, the determination of latitude, several methods for determining longitude including that of lunar distance, the use of trigonometry to determine distances, several types of map projections, and many other topics...' (Karrow). Apianus owes much of his early work to the eminent Martin Waldseemuller, often making only minor changes to his maps and then publishing them as his own.

Apianus' work in its full-length form was first published in 1524; it first appeared in this popular format in Antwerp in 1532 or 1533. This is one of about seven editions produced in Italy in the sixteenth century, all of them rare today.

One of the most popular of all scientific books, over eighty-five years Apianus' text went through more than forty-five editions, in four languages, published in seven cities, by at least eighteen publishers. This popular version, with its text considerably shortened, contains a number of woodcut illustrations but not the moving volvelles that appear in the full versions.
Alden, 'European Americana', 551/5 (two copies only); Karrow, p.53; NUC, 0354519; Ortroy (Apian), 92.

$A9600

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