One of the earliest world maps available to the collector

A very fine example of the first edition of this incunable world map from the the 'Nuremberg Chronicle', published a matter of months after Columbus' return to Spain after his first voyage to the New World. Appropriately for a history of the world, it takes a retrospective view, with the cartography that of Ptolemy, with a land-locked Indian Ocean with the island of Taprobana, but given a biblical theme by depicting the three sons of Noah in the borders. Down the left are seven vignettes of bizarre mythological creatures, with a further 14 on the reverse, taken from the works of Herodotus, Solinus and Pliny. These include figures with six arms, four eyes or a bird-neck and a centaur. The text describes which parts of the world they inhabit.