1730 Tab. III.Africae, in qua Cyrenaica, Marmarica, ac Lybia Exterior.
By: Ptolemy / Mercator
Date: 1730 (Published) Amsterdam
Dimensions: 13.5 x 18.4 inches (34.3 x 46.74 cm)
This is a unique Ptolemaic map of Northern Africa, depicted from Morocco to the Red Sea, including almost a complete map of the Nile in Egypt. Many ancient place names are included throughout the map. The interior is embellished with animals, and a fierce dragon in present-day Morocco.
This interesting map appeared in Mercator’s atlas, which was published a total of eight times between 1578 and 1730, when this particular map was published. One of Mercator’s goals in life was to publish Ptolemy’s Geographia, and in the second installment of his Atlas sive Cosmographia he published an authentic version of Ptolemy’s oeuvre. Mercator strove to be as true to Ptolemy’s second century world view as possible, believing that understanding the past was prerequisite to understanding the present.
The copper plate from which the map was engraved suffered a crack at a relatively early point, leaving its mark on all subsequent prints.
Condition: This map is in A- condition with minor foxing.
Inventory #11366