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World & Polar: Details
Schedel, Secundas Etas Mundi, 1493. 12 x 17. Full period-style color both recto and verso. Usual thread hole repairs, else VG. $18,000.00 [SOLD]
The earliest obtainable world map. The view of the world is still Ptolemaic - Columbus' ships were returning from the New World as this map was in the press. The map is bordered by twelve figures representing wind gods. Just outside them are the figures of Japhet, Shem and Ham, the sons of Noah, symboling the three then-known continents of Europe, Asia and Africa. At the left are seven figures of bizarre creatures believed to inhabit the far reaches of the earth. Europe, the Mediterranean and the Near East are somewhat recognizable, but as one goes further from where the map was made, the geography become more speculative. The dominant feature in Africa is the Nile River emanating from mountains far to the south. A large island of Taprobana is within a landlocked Indian Ocean. The southern part of Africa reaches around to meet the eastern edge of Asia, thus enclosing the Indian Ocean. A fascinating and increasingly difficult to find map. Reference: Shirley, Mapping of the World #19
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Established 1976 
