Asia, 16th century woodcut map Sebastian Münster, 1588, Asia wie es jetziger Zeit nach den fürnemesten Herrschaften abgetheilet und beschriben ist.

Decorative example of Sebastian Munster's second map of Asia, first published in 1588.

The map is significantly updated from Munster's first map of Asia, which was published in 1540 and, when issued, was the first printed map of the Asian Continent. The present map is heavily influenced by Ortelius' map of 1570 and follows the map with respect to many of its details and the map's projection.

Sebastian Münster (1488-1552) was a cosmographer and professor of Hebrew who taught at Tübingen, Heidelberg, and Basel. He settled in the latter in 1529 and died there, of plague, in 1552. Münster made himself the center of a large network of scholars from whom he obtained geographic descriptions, maps, and directions.

He is best known for his Cosmographia universalis, first published in 1544 and released in at least 35 editions by 1628. It was the first German-language description of the world and contained 471 woodcuts and 26 maps over six volumes. Many of the maps were taken from the Geographia and modified over time. The Cosmographia was widely used in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The text, woodcuts, and maps all influenced geographical thought for generations.

Very good condition.

Image 30,5x38cm, page 37x44cm