Skandinavie — Sebastian Münster, 1588
Coming 11/11
- Cartographer
- Sebastian Münster
- Date
- 1588
- Publication
- Cosmographia · Basel, Sebastian Petri, 1588
- Subject
- Scandinavia, the North Atlantic and Frisland
- Medium
- Woodcut with original hand colour
- Dimensions
- 31.2 × 36 cm (woodcut); 35.5 × 43 cm (paper)
- Condition
- Very good; original hand colour
- State
- First state of the woodblock introduced in 1588
About this piece
This is the first state of the Scandinavian woodcut introduced in the 1588 German edition of Sebastian Münster’s Cosmographia, published in Basel by Sebastian Petri. The new block takes its geography from Abraham Ortelius and looks well beyond Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Across the North Atlantic it includes Iceland, Greenland and a glimpse of the American side of the ocean.
One of the most engaging details is Frisland, an island that appeared on Renaissance maps despite having no counterpart in the Atlantic. On the same sheet, familiar Scandinavian shores sit alongside islands and coastlines still being pieced together from travellers’ accounts. A short German note on the map describes the resources of the region, giving the geography something of the voice of the original book.
This example has its original hand colouring, with the paper in very good condition. The woodcut measures 31.2 × 36 cm on a 35.5 × 43 cm sheet.