‘De Insulis Britannicis, Albione, quae est Anglia, & Hibernia …’ (Great Britain) by Sebastian Munster c.1550

An interesting and attractive miniature 16th century woodcut map of Great Britain and Ireland which was published in Sebastian Münster’s Cosmographia (Basle: Henri Petri, 1550 [Latin text edition]). This quaint and unusual map is likely based on the Gough/Bodleian map of England & Wales c.1360 and Claudius Ptolemy’s depiction of Scotland c.150 A.D.

“[Sebastian] Munster [1489-1552] probably had the widest influence in spreading geographical knowledge throughout Europe in the middle years of the [16th] century. His ‘Cosmographia’, issued in 1544, contained not only the latest maps and views of many well-known cities, but included an encyclopaedic amount of detail about the known — and unknown — world and undoubtedly must have been one of the most widely read books of its time, going through nearly forty editions in six languages.” (Moreland & Bannister, ‘Antique Maps’, Phaidon, 1989, p,78-81).

• This is an original 16th century woodcut.
• Printed area is approximately 17.1cms by 25.7cms for the page of text and 15cms by 8.5cms for the map alone.
• The woodcut is in very good condition with adequate margins; printed text on the reverse. Click on image for a better view.
• Click on ‘Delivery Policy’ for postage costs.
• Guaranteed to be over 470 years old.