Ptolemaeus, Claudius

Geographicae enarrationis libri octo. Ex Bilibaldi Pirckeymheri tralatione, sed ad Graeca & prisca exemplaria à Michaële Villanovano iam primum recogniti. Lyon: Melchior & Gaspar Trechsel, 1535



Folio (16 1/8 x 11 ¼ in.; 410 x 286 mm). Woodcut device on title, 50 woodcut maps including 27 double-page maps of the ancient world, 22 double-page maps of the modern world, and one full-page map of Lotharingia on verso of map 46, most with text on verso in elaborate woodcut borders attributed to Hans Holbein and Urs Graf, many woodcut text diagrams; title, several maps and leaves strengthened on new guards, small 2" x 3" section of title fore-margin renewed along with a few marginal wormtracks some of which are mended, small mend in upper inner corner of leaf a2 touching a few letters on verso, two small holes in lower margin of next two leaves from ink deterioration entering text frame but not touching text, small holes in fore-margin of leaves c6 & d1 touching sidenotes and two words on d1, some repairs to various small tears in lower margins of many leaves and maps, mended tears affecting image in maps 4, 10, 22, 40, mended wormtracks in image of map 28-29 and in margin of 49, various rustmarks and spots, sparse contemporary manuscript annotations in text of several pages and in two maps. Modern vellum, manuscript title on spine; clipped entry from old booksellers catalogue laid down on front pastedown.

Alden-Landis 535/14; Nordenskiøld Collection 2:209; Phillips Atlases 364; Sabin 66483

First Servetus edition, translated by Pirckheimer, revised by Servetus.

This is the famous editio prima Serveti named after its editor Michael Servetus (1511-1553). It is widely believed that several copies of this, as well as Servetus' second edition (1541), were destroyed on Calvin's orders at the time of Servetus' execution for heresy in 1553. "One piece of evidence used against Servetus was the passage on the back of map [37, Palestine], where it is explained that 'Palestine was not such a fertile land as was generally believed, since modern travellers reported it barren.' This was not Servetus's original view, but copied from the 1525 [Frickheimer] edition" (Nordenskiøld 2: 166-167).