The oldest map printed in wooden blocks of the Arabian Peninsula

A stunning map of the Arabian Peninsula, the first drawing printed on wooden blocks of the area.

The map is part of Ulm's rare 1482 edition of Ptolemy's Geographie, the first atlas printed north of the Alps and the first atlas to have maps decorated in wood. The map includes 27 traditional Ptolemaic maps, one example of which is one, and five additional modern maps: Italy, Spain, France, Scandinavia, and the Holy Land. This map is the best known and most sought after of all the 15th-century maps of the area.

Ulm Ptolemy's book was innovative in that it was designed for coloring, with instructions from the publisher on how to decorate the woodblock print. The seas are colored in a rich blue color using expensive and rare lapis lazuli as a coloring agent.

The Arabian Peninsula, Arabia Felix, is at the forefront here, surrounded by the waters of the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Oman, and the Persian Gulf, to use its modern names. All the posters on the map are written in Latin, the language of knowledge acquired in the fifteenth century.

The islands surround the peninsula. In addition, parts of Ethiopia and Carmania, a region in Persia (modern Iran), surround the edges of the map. Cities and political units were tagged, with larger titles for water bodies and land blocks included with headings for wooden blocks in the larger block.

The boundaries of latitude and longitude form the map, an innovation in cartography that can be traced back to Ptolemy, whose influence on the history of cartography cannot be overstated.

As shown below, the first case of the map lacks the title and almost always appears with the ocean colored in brilliant Azure blue, a semi-precious stone that was ground into a fine powder, in order to create the rarest and most expensive color that was then applied by the fifteenth and sixteenth colorists. The stones from which the color is painted are usually imported from the Sar-i Sang mines in the Indus Valley and Badakhshan areas in Afghanistan. The intense blue color is due to the presence of a radical trisulphur anion in the crystal.

Early printed editions of Ptolemy's geography

Some of the most important and most numerous early printed maps in Ptolemy's editions were Geographie (Cosmographie); indeed, 31 copies of the work with maps were printed before 1600. Some of the most important and rare editions, including Ulm Ptolemy from which this map originated, were the oldest editions of the work ever printed.

The text was first published in 1475 in Venicewithout maps. An edition with the maps that followed it in 1477, was printed in Bologna. These maps were another first of their kind - they were the first copperplate maps, where the sculptor records copper, which is then inked and compressed. The Bologna edition included 25 of the 26 regional maps (map XV was missing), as well as a world map.

The second edition with maps appeared in Rome in 1478. The third edition with maps was printed in Florence in 1482. It was the first to be printed in a colloquial language, Italian. The map includes 31 maps engraved on copper plates, making it the first map of its kind to enhance the 27 traditional Ptolemaic maps with the versions of modern tables or maps. Modern maps have included maps of Italy, Spain, and France.

The next edition that included the maps was the one from which this map originated, the Ulm 1482 edition. As mentioned above, this was the first atlas printed north of the Alps, as well as the first atlas to use woodblock printing, not copperplate printing. Engraving on copper plates is an engraving method; it cuts the surface of the printing plane in order to create an impression when writing lines engraved in ink. Engraving on wood is one method of relief. The surfaces to be inked are left still, while empty areas are cut.

The Ulm edition is based on an original manuscript by Dominus Nikolaos Germanus, a German Benedictine monk who created the volume in the early 1870s. The manuscript is kept in Württemberg. The other Ptolemaic manuscripts of Germanius, of which there are five, are also likely to serve as templates for Bologna 1477 and Rome 1478.

Ulm is also important for its world maps, the oldest printed map to be signed by its creator, Johannes Schnitzer. The post was the first project of Lienhart Holle, who had previously worked as a wood engraver. He wanted the business to be big. A new type was cut for the atlas, and Hall supervised the coloring of fancy models of the printed edition. However, the cost of producing the book was a bit expensive; Holley went bankrupt after printing only one book, and his inventory was acquired by Johann Reger, who reissued the atlas in 1486.

The two states in this map

The first edition of 1482 is easily distinguished from the second edition of 1486 because there is no printed title above the map image in the upper margin. In the 1486 edition, the title reads “♦ SEXTA ♦ ASIE ♦” on the left side of the page and “♦ TABULA ♦” on the right side. In addition, the colors on the two maps differed; while the seas were blue in the 1482 edition, they were brown in 1486.

reference

Tibbits, no. 8; Shirley (1983), map 10. a. E. Nordenskiold, The Facsimile Atlas to the Early History of Cartography, reprinted (New York: Krause Reprint Company, 1961). Morty, Notes and Explanations of Variations in Cosmography 1482 and 1486. RA Skelton, Claudius Ptolemy Cosmography, Ulm 1482 (Amsterdam, 1963). map

California

‍

The second edition of the oldest woodcut map of the Arabian Peninsula

A stunning map of the Arabian Peninsula, the first drawing printed on wooden blocks of the region, in stunning contemporary handmade colors.

The map is part of Ulm's rare 1486 edition of Ptolemy's book geographyIt is the first atlas printed north of the Alps and the first atlas to contain maps decorated in wood. The map includes 27 traditional Ptolemaic maps, one example of which is one, and five additional modern maps: Italy, Spain, France, Scandinavia, and the Holy Land. This map is the best known and most sought after of all the 15th-century maps of the area.

Ulm Ptolemy's book was innovative in that it was designed for coloring, with instructions from the publisher on how to decorate the woodblock print.

The Arabian Peninsula, Arabia FelixIt is in the forefront here. It is surrounded by the waters of the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, to use their modern names. All the posters on the map are written in Latin, the language of knowledge acquired in the fifteenth century.

The islands surround the peninsula. In addition, parts of Ethiopia and Carmania, a region in Persia (modern Iran), surround the edges of the map. Cities and political units were tagged, with larger titles for water bodies and land blocks included with headings for wooden blocks in the larger block.

The boundaries of latitude and longitude form the map, an innovation in cartography that can be traced back to Ptolemy, whose influence on the history of cartography cannot be overstated.

Ptolemy in Europe in the fifteenth century

The fifteenth century is the important century for the history of cartography for two main reasons. The first is the rediscovery of Ptolemy's works by Europeans. The second, which roughly coincides with Ptolemy's return, is the invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg around 1440.

Ptolemy's ideas were absent from the intellectual history of Western Europe for nearly a thousand years, despite Arab scholars interacting with his ideas from the ninth century onwards. In 1295, a Greek monk found a copy of Ptolemy in Constantinople; the emperor ordered a copy to be made and the Greek text began to spread in Eastern Europe. In 1393, the Byzantine diplomat brought a copy of geography to Italy, where it was translated into Latin in 1406 and called Cosmography. Manuscript maps were first recorded in 1415. These manuscripts, of which there are more than eighty manuscripts to date, are descendants of Ptolemy's work and a now-lost atlas consisting of a map of the world and 26 regional maps.

When Ptolemy's work was redefined by Western studies, it proved to have a radical impact on the understanding and emergence of maps. Ptolemy uses the concept of graticol, uses latitude and longitude, and directs his maps to the north - concepts we take for granted today. the Geography Company The text is concerned with three major issues regarding geography: the size and shape of the Earth; the projection of the map, i.e. how the curve of the world is proportionally represented on a flat surface; and the corruption of spatial data as it is transmitted from source to source. The text also contains instructions on how to map the world on a flat lobe or surface, completing the only set of geographical coordinates (8000 geographical names, 6400 with coordinates) to survive the classical world.

Early printed editions of Ptolemy's Geography

Some of the early printed maps were the most important and most numerous in the editions of Ptolemy's book geography (Cosmography); in fact, 31 editions of the work with maps were printed before 1600. Some of the most important and rare of these editions, including Ulm Ptolemy from which this map originated, were the oldest editions of the work ever printed.

The text was first published in 1475 in Venicewithout maps. An edition with the maps that followed it in 1477, was printed in Bologna. These maps were another first of their kind - they were the first copperplate maps, where the sculptor records copper, which is then inked and compressed. The Bologna edition included 25 of the 26 regional maps (map XV was missing), as well as a world map.

The second edition with maps appeared in Rome in 1478. The third edition with maps was printed in Florence in 1482. It was the first to be printed in a colloquial language, Italian. The map includes 31 maps engraved on copper plates, making it the first map of its kind to be added to the 27 traditional Ptolemaic maps tabular novels, or modern maps. Modern maps have included maps of Italy, Spain, and France.

The next edition that included the maps was the one from which this map originated, the Ulm 1482 edition. As mentioned above, this was the first atlas printed north of the Alps, as well as the first atlas to use woodblock printing, not copperplate printing. Engraving on copper plates is an engraving method; it cuts the surface of the printing plane in order to create an impression when writing lines engraved in ink. Engraving on wood is one method of relief. The surfaces to be inked are left still, while empty areas are cut.

The Ulm edition is based on an original manuscript by Dominus Nikolaos Germanus, a German Benedictine monk who created the volume in the early 1870s. The manuscript is kept in Württemberg. The other Ptolemaic manuscripts of Germanius, of which there are five, are also likely to serve as templates for Bologna 1477 and Rome 1478.

Ulm is also important because its world map is the oldest printed map to be signed by its creator, Johannes Schnitzer. The post was the first project of Lienhart Holle, who had previously worked as a wood engraver. He wanted the business to be big. A new type was cut for the atlas, and Hall supervised the coloring of fancy models of the printing process. However, the cost of producing the book was a bit expensive; Holley went bankrupt after printing only one book, and Johann Reger took possession of his inventory, and reissued the atlas in 1486.

The two states in this map

The first edition of 1482 is easily distinguished from the second edition of 1486 because there is no printed title above the map image in the upper margin. In the 1486 edition, the title reads “♦ SEXTA ♦ ASIE ♦” on the left side of the page and “♦ TABULA ♦” on the right side. In addition, the colors on the two maps differed; while the seas were blue in the 1482 edition, they were brown in 1486.

This map is innovative and dynamic. It is the first wooden map of the Arabian Peninsula. The book was part of a historically important atlas that was pivotal in the development of cartography in Europe during the fifteenth century and would make an important addition to any collection of Ptolemaic, Arabian Peninsula, Middle East, or early printed maps.

reference

Tibbits, lost; Shirley (1983), map 10; AE Nordenskiold, a replica of the Atlas of the Early History of Cartography, reprinted (New York: Krause Reprint Company, 1961); R.A. Skelton, Claudius Ptolemaic, Ulm 1482 (Amsterdam, 1963). map

California

‍

The Arabian Peninsula by the most important map maker in the first quarter of the 16th century

A brightly colored example of Waldseimüller's important early map of the Arabian Peninsula, from Martin Waldsemüller's 1513 edition of Ptolemy, published by Johann Schott in Strasbourg.

Waldsemüller's map of the Arabian Peninsula is a landmark in the history of cartography, which contributed to significant advances in both Renaissance geography and map printing. As can be seen from the current map, contemporary European geographic knowledge of the Arabian Peninsula was very advanced. The general outline of the peninsula is familiar to the modern eye, even if the size and frequency of the surrounding islands are somewhat exaggerated. During the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance, sophisticated manuscript maps of the region prepared by Arab scholars fell into the hands of Europeans, especially through the Levantine trade that passed through Venice. These sources informed the Italian map makers, whose works eventually moved north of the Alps to be incorporated into printed maps in Germany, Alsace, and Lorraine. Specifically, this work was based on the 1320 manuscript maps of Sanuto and Visconti, updated by Nicholas Germanus in 1482 to include more cities and textual information.

This map appeared as part of the first modern atlas prepared by Martin Waldsemüller using Matthias Ringman's translation. This is one of Ptolemy's most important publications, and contains several new regional maps. Waldsemöller included twenty new maps based on contemporary knowledge, such as the present work, in addition to the 27 traditional Ptolemaic maps derived from the Ulm edition of 1482.

Martin Waldsemüller (c. 1470 - 1522) was one of the most prominent cartographers of the first great period of world exploration, yet details of his sources and personal history remain obscure. He received his education at the University of Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany, and became the center of a circle of great humanists based in the Abbey of St. Dei in Alsace. Waldsemöller and his colleague Matthias Ringman produced this edition of Ptolemy, partly at the expense of Duke René of Lorraine. It was completed by Jacobus Isler and Georgios Obelin and published in Strasbourg by Johann Schott. The atlas also contained the first map in an atlas dedicated entirely to America (Tabula terre nove), often called the “Admiral's Map” after Columbus. The Atlas map of Lotharingia (the first map of the Duchy of Lorraine), printed in black, red and olive, is one of the oldest examples of color printing. This edition was reprinted in 1520 using the same wooden blocks.

The current map is an important component of any serious collection of maps of the Arabian Peninsula.

reference

Tibbits, Issue 13; Al Qasimi: The Gulf in Early Maps, p. 11.

California

‍

A rare 1525 map of the Arabian Peninsula and its environs.

An important early map of the Middle East, from the 1535 edition of Lorenz Fries's Geography, based on the works of Claudius Ptolemy. Fries was originally intended to include maps in the new Chronica Mundi book by Martin Waldsemüller, whose death around 1520 caused the project to be delayed. Instead, Freis used his woodcut maps to publish a smaller edition of Waldsemüller's “Geography”, first published by Johannes Gruninger in Strasbourg in 1522.

Lorenz (Laurent) Fries was born in Alsace inabout 1490. He studied medicine and apparently spent some time at the universities of Pavia, Piacenza, Montpellier and Vienna. After completing his education, Fries worked as a doctor in several places, before settling in Strasbourg, around 1519. While in Strasbourg, Fries met Strasbourg typist and publisher Johann Groninger, a colleague in the Saint D group of scholars formed by, among others, Walter Lode, Martin Ringman, and Martin Waldsemüller.

From 1520 to 1525, Fries worked with Groninger as a cartographic editor, taking advantage of the collection of materials created by Waldsemüller. Fries' first map-making adventure was in 1520, when he made a reduction of Martin Waldsemüller's wall world map, published in 1507. While Fries appears to have been the editor of the map, credit actually goes to Peter Appian for the title. The map is entitled “Tibus Orbis Universal Exaptolomie Cosmography Tradition e Americk Vespucci's York Lustrationis” in Pietro Appiano Lesenco Elucobrat. An.o Dni MDXX, published in Caius Julius Solinus's Enarrationes, edited by Camers, and published in Vienna in 1520.

Fries' next project was a new edition of Claudius Ptolemy's Geography, published by Johann Oberger in 1522. It is clear that Fries edited the maps, and in most cases simply produced a miniaturization of the equivalent map from Waldsemüller's 1513 edition of Geographie Opus Novissima, printed by Johann Schott. Fries also created three new maps of geography: maps of Southeast Asia, the East Indies, China, and the world, but the geography of these maps is derived from Waldsey Muller's 1507 world map.

The 1522 edition of Fries's work is very rare, indicating that the work was not commercially successful. In 1525, an improved edition was issued, with text re-edited by Wilbald Berkheimer, of Johannes Regiomontanus's notes. After Groninger's death in 1531, the work was continued by his son Christophe, who apparently sold Ptolemy's material to two publishers in Lyon, the Melchior brothers and Gaspar Trichsel, who published a joint edition in 1535, before Gaspar Trichsell published his own edition in 1541.

reference

Tibbits, missing

California

‍

The rare, vintage-colored wooden map of Münster of the Arabian Peninsula.

This remarkable Woodcut is an early Ptolemian map of the Arabian Peninsula displayed in a semi-zoidal projection with the parallels and the lines of longitude (the first lines of latitude and longitude) enumerated in the borders. The cartridge going to the sea includes the names of the local tribes, and shows the adorable mermaid. This influential map has provided the basis on which European maps have depicted the region for nearly a century.

The Arabian Peninsula covers over one million square miles and includes the modern states of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. It is one of the largest areas in the world with no navigable rivers, a circumstance that has made exploring and mapping inland areas difficult. The first map of the Arabian Peninsula printed in Europe was in Ptolemy's 1477 edition. Tiberius indicates that Ptolemy, like other early Greeks, exaggerated the length of Eurasia to the East. The distance between the Red Sea and Persia was very large, so the Arabian Peninsula was enlarged to fill the space, mainly because Ptolemy knew that the entrance to the Red Sea was very narrow; hence, he had to make the shape appropriate.

At Ptolemy's time, Greek seafarers had sailed around the Arabian coast and were familiar with the coastal cities. However, the interior remains largely unplanned until the 20th century. The northern part of the Peninsula tended to have more accurate mapping because it was closer to popular and frequently traveled lands, but the interior of Ptolemaic maps is almost entirely fictional, including mountain ranges, river systems, and lakes. Cartographic errors are a combination of comic stories told to seafarers about what lies inside and the desire to fill the void that was common in cartography prior to the eighth century.

Sebastian Münster (1488-1552) was a linguist who taught in Tübingen, Heidelberg, and Basel. He settled in Basel in 1529 and died there of the plague in 1552. Munster was a specialist in networks and was the center of a large network of scientists from whom he obtained geographical descriptions, maps, and directions.

As a young man, Munster joined the Franciscan Order, where he became a priest. He studied geography in Tübingen and graduated in 1518. Shortly afterwards, he moved to Basel for the first time, where he published Hebrew Grammar, one of the first Hebrew-language books published in Germany. In 1521, Münster moved to Heidelberg, where he continued to publish Hebrew texts and the first German books in Aramaic. After his conversion to Protestantism in 1529, he assumed the Hebrew language presidency in Basel, where he published his major Hebrew work, the two-volume Old Testament with a Latin translation.

Münster published his first known map, a map of Germany, in 1525. Three years later, he published a treatment on sundials. But it was not until 1540 that he published his first cartographic tour: Vetus et Nova, an updated edition of Ptolemy's Geography. In addition to the Ptolemaic maps, Munster added 21 modern maps. One of Munster's innovations was the inclusion of a map of each continent, a concept that would influence Abraham Ortelius and other early atlas makers in the coming decades. Geography was reprinted in 1542, 1545, and 1552.

However, Munster's masterpiece was his Cosmographia universalis. The book was first published in 1544, and reissued in at least 35 editions by 1628. It was the first German-language description of the world and contained 471 woodcuts and 26 maps in six volumes. Cosmography was widely used in the 16th and 17th centuries and many of its maps were adopted and modified over time, making Munster an influential cornerstone of geographic thought for generations.

Reference: Tibbits: No. 21

‍