"Tabula di Libya Seconda", Ptolemy/Berlinghieri

This is an extremely early, and rare engraving of the region of Libya and Tunisia showing Malta and a bit of Sicily and Sardinia as well. Berlinghieri's maps are the only ones based on Ptolemy to be drawn on the original projection, with equidistant meridians and parallels. Berlinghieri paraphrased Ptolemy in Italian terza rima (a poetic form ), making this from the first atlas in vernacular Italian. The map is beautifully engraved with stippled seas and a unique depiction of the mountain ranges. It has been argued among map historians that the plates were engraved by Francesco Rosselli.

References: Mickwitz & Miekkavaara (Nordenskiold Vol. 2) #198-14; Imago Mundi, Vol. 56, No. 2, pp. 152-169.

Condition: B

This is a dark, crisp impression with some minor loss on centerfold. Hinge remnants on verso and a light printer's crease parallel to centerfold.