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  1552 (undated)         1 : 50000000 Description This is an excellent 1552 Latin example of Sebastian Münster's map of America, the first printed map of the Western Hemisphere. The map first appeared in Münster's 1540 edition of Ptolemy's Geographia, one of the earliest versions of the classical work to systematically include maps showing contemporary geographical knowledge. Beginning in 1544, the map would be included in Münster's magnum opus, Cosmographia Universalis, which for over forty years was the primary source for anyone interested in world geography. Consequently, th...

Cosmographia, in which this map appeared until about 1569. Whereas Geographia only appeared in Latin, Münster's new work was published in German, Latin, French, and Italian (the sole Czech edition of 1554 had only one map of Bohemia). The movable stereotype text with which the map was lettered exhibits slight variations from edition to edition, as does the verso text. Also, the cracks would increase in severity until 1571 or 1572, when the badly worn woodblock was replaced with a similar (but easily distinguishable) woodcut which remained in Münster's opus until 1578, with the exception o...