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Ruscelli / Ptolemy / 1574 / [ World Atlas ] La Geografia di Claudio Tolomeo Alessandrino, Tradotta di Greco nell'Idioma Volgare Italiano da Girolamo Russcelli (Safe 1, 84995) Small quarto. 17th or 18th century full marbled calf. Spine in six compartments, with gilt "GIEORAFIA | DEL TOLOMEI" in second compartment. Gilt floral pattern in first, third, fourth, and fifth compartments, with a gilt heraldic crest in the sixth. Boards rubbed and some looseness to spine (as imaged) but holding well. 3 parts in 1 volume. 65 engraved maps (Terra Nueva erroneously present twice replacing Tierra Nova, double hemisphere world map present but not photographed). Minor dampstaining to upper portion of some maps (see images). This example unusually has the modern maps bound before the Ptolemaic maps. 1574 Edition of Ptolemy's Geography. With Modern Maps of New France, Mexico, and the World. An excellent example of Ruscelli's Ptolemy, the most important Italian Ptolemy published in the second half of the 16th century. Ruscelli first published his Geografia in 1561, basing his maps on Gastaldi's 1548 work. Ruscelli both enlarged Gastaldi's maps, which allowed for a significantly neater and more attractive style, and he also expanded the atlas, adding a number of maps. This brought the total number of maps in the atlas to 65, including an impressive six relating the the Americas, as well as three world maps. This includes the first double-hemisphere world map to appear in an atlas (Shirley 110). A number of other maps are of particular interest. Septentrionalium Partium Nova Tabula is the first reduction of the unobtainable 1558 Zeno map, which charted a 1380 Venetian voyage to the northern Atlantic. Tierra Nueva is the second printed map to focus on the eastern coastline of North America, stretching from Florida to Labrador. The map of the Southwest, Nueva Hispania Tabula Nova, includes a look at rivers in this region and the Seven Cities of Gold. Finally, the "mariner's map," Carta Marina Nuova Tavola, is an easily recognizable projection with strange features including a landbridge between North America and Asia. The 1574 edition of Ruscelli's work is the third edition, the first to include the corrections by the editor Giovanni Malombra. Published in Italian, it is also the second issue to include Gioseppe Moleto's treaties on geographical terms and the process of mapmaking at the end of the book. The work was written as the sun set on Ptolemy's millennia-long domination on the studies of geography. Recognizing this, the work compares Ptolemey's geography to "modern" geography in both its text and maps. With a similar number of both ancient and modern maps and text discussing both ways of mapmaking, this book acts as a bridge between classical and contemporary cartography. Girolamo Ruscelli Ruscelli was one of the great humanists of 16th century Italy, publishing a number of works on a variety of topics including Italian poetry, history, militaria, and, of course, his influential edition of Ptolemy's Geografia, expanded with modern maps. Ruscelli also founded what was supposedly the first-ever scientific society, the Accademia Segreta, in Naples, which existed between 1542 and 1547. Following this, he moved to Venice where he proofread for Valgrisi, with whom he would publish the Geografia. Collation *, **4, A - H4, A - Z4, Aa - Xx4, +2, A - Z2, Aa - Oo2, A - Z2, Aa - Dd2, - 4, A - H4. Provenance Ignatius Zanardi, his bookplate, dated 1748. Seller Inventory # 84995
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