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1559 Munster View/ Map of Jerusalem

Jerusalem-munster-1559
$425.00
Ierusalem civitas sancta, olim metropolis regni Iudaici, hodie vero colonia Turcae. - Main View
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1559 Munster View/ Map of Jerusalem

Jerusalem-munster-1559

One of the Earliest Contemporary Views of Jerusalem

Title


Ierusalem civitas sancta, olim metropolis regni Iudaici, hodie vero colonia Turcae.
  1559 (undated)     6 x 15 in (15.24 x 38.1 cm)

Description


One of the earliest printed views of Jerusalem, executed in woodcut by Jacob Clauser for the Munster's Cosmographia, this example appearing in a 1559 Latin edition of the monumental work. It is one of the earliest available of the city. Unlike most early depictions, this bird’s-eye view is not intended as a purely retrospective depiction of the ancient city, but rather a modern view, showing the city at the time of publication. That said, the map is the design of a devout Christian, and so many of the features shown are those that would be of primary interest to Christian pilgrims (actual or purely armchair travelers.) Named are Mount Zion, the church of Saint Anne, and King David's tomb. The temple of the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre is shown. The court of Pilate, the palace of Herod, the Garden of Gesthemane and the Akeldama are also marked. As stated in the title, the city was at the time occupied by the Ottoman Empire. The Dome of the Rock is depicted centrally, and is clearly a mosque, but retains the name of the Temple of Solomon. The whole of the city is shown embraced by its ancient walls, with several of its famous gates named.
Publication History
Munster's Cosmographia UniversalisWas published in German in 1544, the first of many editions. Its first Latin edition was 1550. Of these there were five others prior to the replacement of many of the images and maps for the new edition of 1588. Munster's work was extremely popular, running to over fifty thousand copies over a long printing history. Examples produced 1578 and prior are prized over the updated woodcuts produced after that date.

CartographerS


Sebastian Münster (January 20, 1488 - May 26, 1552), was a German cartographer, cosmographer, Hebrew scholar and humanist. He was born at Ingelheim near Mainz, the son of Andreas Munster. He completed his studies at the Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen in 1518, after which he was appointed to the University of Basel in 1527. As Professor of Hebrew, he edited the Hebrew Bible, accompanied by a Latin translation. In 1540 he published a Latin edition of Ptolemy's Geographia, which presented the ancient cartographer's 2nd century geographical data supplemented systematically with maps of the modern world. This was followed by what can be considered his principal work, the Cosmographia. First issued in 1544, this was the earliest German description of the modern world. It would become the go-to book for any literate layperson who wished to know about anywhere that was further than a day's journey from home. In preparation for his work on Cosmographia, Münster reached out to humanists around Europe and especially within the Holy Roman Empire, enlisting colleagues to provide him with up-to-date maps and views of their countries and cities, with the result that the book contains a disproportionate number of maps providing the first modern depictions of the areas they depict. Münster, as a religious man, was not producing a travel guide. Just as his work in ancient languages was intended to provide his students with as direct a connection as possible to scriptural revelation, his object in producing Cosmographia was to provide the reader with a description of all of creation: a further means of gaining revelation. The book, unsurprisingly, proved popular and was reissued in numerous editions and languages including Latin, French, Italian, and Czech. The last German edition was published in 1628, long after Münster's death of the plague in 1552. Cosmographia was one of the most successful and popular books of the 16th century, passing through 24 editions between 1544 and 1628. This success was due in part to its fascinating woodcuts (some by Hans Holbein the Younger, Urs Graf, Hans Rudolph Manuel Deutsch, and David Kandel). Münster's work was highly influential in reviving classical geography in 16th century Europe, and providing the intellectual foundations for the production of later compilations of cartographic work, such as Ortelius' Theatrum Orbis Terrarum Münster's output includes a small format 1536 map of Europe; the 1532 Grynaeus map of the world is also attributed to him. His non-geographical output includes Dictionarium trilingue in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, and his 1537 Hebrew Gospel of Matthew. Most of Munster's work was published by his stepson, Heinrich Petri (Henricus Petrus), and his son Sebastian Henric Petri. More by this mapmaker...


Jacob Clauser (1520?-1579?) was a Swiss draftsman, painter and designer for woodcuts. Many of his illustrations appeared in Münster's 'Cosmographia'. Born in Zurich, he was active in the Upper Rhine and Lake Constance region. Learn More...

Source


Munster, S. Cosmographia. (Basel, Petri) 1558    

Condition


Very good. Two small mended holes not affecting image.

References


OCLC 637404697. Laor 1087.