[MAP] Transylvania - Munster - 1552

Les Citez & Villes de la Transsylvanie. Single leaf with woodblock map of the Balkans from Cosmographiae Universalis. Sebastian Munster. Basle, 1552.

200mm x 310mm. Wood block map of the Balkans covering the regions of present-day northern Greece, Macedonia, Kosovo, Bulgaria, Serbia and Romania. Only the major cities are shown with castle icons. On a full sheet of French text with an image of a hilltop castle on verso. Hand-colored. Minor overall toning.

The Cosmographia by Sebastian Münster from 1544 is the earliest German description of the world. It had numerous editions in different languages including Latin, French (translated by François de Belleforest), Italian, English, and even Czech. The last German edition was published in 1628, long after his death. The Cosmographia was one of the most successful and popular books of the 16th century. It passed through 24 editions in 100 years. This success was due to the fascinating woodcuts (some by Hans Holbein the Younger, Urs Graf, Hans Rudolph Manuel Deutsch, and David Kandel). It was most important in reviving geography in 16th century Europe.