Skip to main content
This item has been

SOLD

Novae Insula. by MUNSTER, Sebastian., 1572.
Title: Novae Insula. Cartographer: MUNSTER, Sebastian. Stock #: 25013 Price: £6,000.00
Sale!

The first map of the continent of America

La tables des neufues lesquelles ou appelle isles d'occident & d'Indie pour divers regards.

Basle: Henri Petri, 1568, French edition. Coloured woodcut, sheet 295 x 400mm.
Stock #:  25503

Export as PDFEnquire
Similar to Sell?
Add to Wishlist
Add to Wishlist

Description

Munster's landmark map, the first to attempt to show America as a continent, yet demonstrating how little was known. On the map a narrow isthmus divides the Atlantic and Pacific in the region of the Carolinas, based on Verrazzano, and Yucatan is an island. The large island of Zipangri off the west coast is not California but Japan, based on the narrative of Marco Polo but a few years before any recorded visit to the islands by Europeans. The Philippines appear as an 'archipelago of 7448 islands'. The large vignette ship is the 'Victoria', the only survivor of Magellan's fleet of four. This map, published in Munster's 'Cosmographiae Universalis', contained two 'firsts': it was the first atlas map to depict North and South America together and to use the name 'Pacific' (as 'pacificum'). This example omits 'isles' from 'des Isles neufes' in the title.

Condition:

Old ink pagination in top corners, slight damp staining.

References:

BURDEN: 12, state 11 of 13.

Join Our Mailing List

Sign up to our newsletter to be the first to hear about new arrivals, upcoming events, and our latest catalogues.

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Name*