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Source Description

The classical Greek and Roman world view is known to us through the writings of Claudius Ptolemy, a 2nd century A.D. astronomer, mathematician, and geographer who lived in Alexandria, Egypt. Although his original manuscript no longer exists, various copies survived through the Middle Ages. With the advent of the printing press in the late-15th century, it was one the first geographical texts printed. The first printed editions of "Geographia" included a world map and 26 regional maps. These maps depicted the extent of the world as known to the ancient Greeks and Romans, which focused on the lands bordering the Mediterranean -- Europe, northern Africa, and western and southern Asia. Despite the disclosure of New World discoveries, such maps still had a strong influence on the Europeans' geographical concept of the world. Unfortunately for the early explorers, this world image underestimated the Earth's circumference and overestimated the breadth of the Eurasian land mass. While the first printed edition of "Geographia" that included maps was published in Bolgona in 1477, the Ulm edition was the first printed north of the Alps and the first to include wood cut printed maps. New and updated versions of "Geographia" were printed until the mid-19th century.

Scholar Source Context

Document identity
localId
3f462s124
label
The world
core
obj
dtoType
map
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
3f462s124
contentType
map
stage
normalized
title
The world
description
The classical Greek and Roman world view is known to us through the writings of Claudius Ptolemy, a 2nd century A.D. astronomer, mathematician, and geographer who lived in Alexandria, Egypt. Although his original manuscript no longer exists, various copies survived through the Middle Ages. With the advent of the printing press in the late-15th century, it was one the first geographical texts printed. The first printed editions of "Geographia" included a world map and 26 regional maps. These maps depicted the extent of the world as known to the ancient Greeks and Romans, which focused on the lands bordering the Mediterranean -- Europe, northern Africa, and western and southern Asia. Despite the disclosure of New World discoveries, such maps still had a strong influence on the Europeans' geographical concept of the world. Unfortunately for the early explorers, this world image underestimated the Earth's circumference and overestimated the breadth of the Eurasian land mass. While the first printed edition of "Geographia" that included maps was published in Bolgona in 1477, the Ulm edition was the first printed north of the Alps and the first to include wood cut printed maps. New and updated versions of "Geographia" were printed until the mid-19th century.
date
["[1482]"]
year
1482
rights
No known copyright restrictions.
rightsUri
No known restrictions on use.
reuseAllowed
no restrictions
language
Latin
identifierLocal
05_01_000200
creators
Ptolemy, active 2nd century
Hol, Lienhart
Schnitzer, Johannes
institution
Boston Public Library
collections
Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center Collection
subjects
World maps
subjectsGeographic
World
genreBasic
Maps
typeOfResource
Cartographic
pageCount
1
source
import
pubPlace
Ulm
publisher
Lienhart Hol
Source extras
institutionArkId
sf268508b
collectionArkId
41688024w
extent
1 map : hand col. ; 40 x 56 cm.
notes
Prime meridian: Ferro.
Title supplied by cataloger.
At head of map: Insculptum est per Iohane Schnitzer de Armszheim.
Engraved on wood with place names in moveable type.
Includes names of places and natural features.
In margin: notes on latitude.
Appears in the author's Geographia. Ulm : Lienhart Hol, 16 July 1482.
Includes ill. of windheads.
Cataloging, conservation, and digitization made possible in part by The National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor.
Text in Latin.
Cataloging, conservation, and digitization made possible in part by The National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor.
Atlas scanned by Internet Archive http://www.archive.org/details/cosmographia00ptol
hasTranscription
no
dcId
3f462s124
type
map
Single page context