Woodcut map of ancient France from Fries’ edition of Ptolemy's Geographia

Description

This 1535 map of Gaul by Lorenz Fries represents a slightly reduced version of Martin Waldseemüller’s respective 1513 map, itself based on the cartographic work of Greco-Roman polymath Claudius Ptolemy.

Gaul was an ancient region in Western Europe, controlled for a long time by the Romans, before falling to the Franks, and eventually morphing into the Kingdom of France, though then occupying a smaller territory.

Applying a trapezoidal projection, the map shows Gaul extending across present-day France, Belgium, and Luxembourg, as well as parts of the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy, with the Rhine and the western foothills of the Alps forming the eastern limits of the map. It features pictorial depiction of relief, shows countless ancient place names, and traces roads and administrative subdivisions.

The present example of the map is from the third Fries edition of Ptolemy’s Geographia, published in Lyon. It was first published in 1522, followed by a second edition in 1525, with both printed in Strasbourg. The final, fourth edition was published in Vienne, in 1541.

Descriptive Latin text and ornamental embellishments on verso.

A splendid depiction of much of Western Europe as it was known about 2,000 years ago.

Publication

Geographicae enarrationis libri octo [1535]

Condition

Very good.

Printed on watermarked paper, folding. Uncoloured. Slightly weak impression at lower right. Light shine-through. Faint toning along centre. Minor spotting, contained to margins. Light, minor dampstains at top and bottom centre, contained to blank margins.

Reference

Four Editions of Fries’ Geographia of Ptolemy. (2022, June 27). In Map Forum. https://mapforum.com/2022/06/27/four-editions-of-fries-geographia-of-ptolemy/

Item #: 02917

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