c 1535 "TABULA II ASIAE" (Ukraine, Russia, Armenia, Georgia)

$239.00

M-1959: “TABULA II ASIAE” [UKRAINE, RUSSIA, ARMENIA, GEORGIA]. Claudius Ptolemy. Lyons: Laurent Fries, published 1535. From the first Servetus edition of Ptolemy’s Geographiae. Original wood-cut.

Image Size: 11 7/8 x 14 ¾  inches. Some toning and filled stitch holes along the center fold, as usual for this edition.

Latin text and ornate woodblock illustrations on verso. “The elaborate Renaissance woodcut panels on the reverse may have been designed by Albrecht Dürer – the known contributor to diagrams elsewhere in the atlas.” (R. W. Shirley “Early Printed Maps …” - Item 15.)

This scarce map, titled on verso, is from an atlas edited by Michael Servetus with maps printed from the blocks of Laurent Fries (c.1490 - c.1532) - physician, astrologer and geographer. The map is typical Ptolemaic - drawn on a revised conical projection and set in a trapezoidal frame.

The area depicted is north of the Black Sea and west of the Caspian Sea (Ukraine, Russia, Georgia & Armenia).  Ptolemy collected his data around 160 AD. Ancient climates and parallels are inserted outside the east and west borders.

Topographical features are found throughout the map with major towns, cities, and waterways are identified. Mountain ranges dominate the map, and three gates are shown in the Caucasus Mountains, which in ancient times used to be a caravan route to the ancient Orient. The Alexandri Column is shown in present day Georgia.

Known as the first Servetus edition, this Lyons edition was so named due to the fate of its editor. Michael Servetus(c.1511-53) was a Spanish physician & theologian. His unorthodox teachings led to his condemnation as a heretic by Protestants and Roman Catholics. In Geneva, 1553, he was burned at the stake by order of John Calvin who insisted copies of this edition be burned with him.

Shipped unmatted

  • Inventory# M-1959