Die Reichstatt Speier.
€175
- Cartographer
- Sebastian Münster
- Date
- 1588
- Publication
- Cosmographia Universalis · Basel, Sebastian Petri (Henricpetri)
- Subject
- Speyer, Germany
- Condition
- Photographs show paper discolouration, foxing, folds and edge wear.
- Availability
- In stock. Subject to availability.
About this piece
A hand-coloured view of the imperial city of Speyer from the 1588 German edition of Sebastian Münster’s Cosmographia, published in Basel by Sebastian Petri. The Rhine curves across the foreground, where small boats lead the eye towards fields, roads and the distant skyline. Red roofs and blue-green towers distinguish the city from the open country around it.
The depth of the scene is especially effective. The print gives as much space to the approach across water and land as it does to the buildings themselves. Two columns of German text sit below the panorama. Turn the sheet over and the typographic heading for Speyer is accompanied by a hand-coloured heraldic woodcut, which gives the reverse a visual interest of its own.
The colouring remains clear on both sides. The paper shows discolouration, scattered spotting, a visible middle fold and wear at the edges.