1552 Tabula Europae V

By: Sebastian Munster Date: 1552 (Published) Basel Dimensions: 10.75 x 13.25 inches (28 cm x 34 cm) This marvelous woodcut map of Italy, the Adriatic Sea and the Balkans first appeared in Munster’s Geograhia Universalis which was first published in 1540. The map is presented in a trapezoidal border. The woodcut border surrounding the text on the verso is thought to be the work of Hans Holbein. Munster’s maps represent new and important works based on Ptolemy, this one with Latin text on the verso framed by a lovely decorative cartouche featuring scrolling and miniature depictions of people, mythical beast, gods from antiquity and a German heraldic shield. This map differs from others of the same title in that a small arrow next to the title points to the right rather than the left as do most of Munster’s maps of Europe. With remarkable accuracy Munster traced the mountains of the north and eastern sides of the Adriatic, the Dinaric Alps, which dominate the western region of the Balkan