Ptolemaeus, Claudius

Folio (405 x 263mm.), printed title within elaborate woodcut border, 27 double-page maps of the ancient world, 22 double-page maps of the modern world, one full-page map of Lotharingia on verso of map 46, together 50 woodcut maps, most with Latin text on versos enclosed in elaborate woodcut borders, mounted on vellum guards, woodcut diagrams in the text (one by Dürer), including one full-page of an armillary sphere, contemporary half blind-tooled pigskin over wooden boards, two clasps, lacking one strap

Nordenskiöld Collection 2:208; Phillips, Atlases 362: Sabin 66482

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

TRANSLATED BY WILLIBALD PIRCKHEIMER WITH NOTES BY JOHANNES REGIOMONTANUS.

In 1522, an edition of the Geographia had been printed in Strassburg by Johannes Grüninger. The maps are reduced from the 1513/1520 editions, while three new maps were compiled and cut for the printing. With the exception of the Ptolemaic map Quinta Asiae tabula, these blocks were reprinted in 1525 for the present edition, with the text retranslated by the humanist and scholar Willibald Pirckheimer of Nuremberg.

The modern world map Orbis typus universalis iuxta hydrographorum traditionem by Laurens Fries (1522) after Martin Waldseemüller (1513) is ONE OF THE EARLIEST PRINTED MAPS IN AN EDITION OF PTOLEMY TO INCLUDE THE NAME AMERICA (Shirley, Mapping of the World 48). The other modern world map, Diefert situs orbis hydrographorum ab eo quem Ptolemeus posuit, is reduced from Waldseemüller's corresponding map of 1513 (Shirley, Mapping of the World 49).

The woodcut borders which enclose the text on the versos of most of the maps are thought to have been the work of Hans Holbein.