"Repraesentatio Totius Africae…", Scherer, Heinrich

This bold map of Africa shows the Nile originating in the Ptolemaic twin lakes south of the Equator. The density of shading on the continent indicates the spread of Christianity by darkening those areas that are not Christian and leaving the much smaller 'saved' areas on the east and west coasts lighter. This theme is repeated by the wonderful engravings adorning the map. On the left is the skeletal specter of death about to fell a tree on a group that sit in darkness below, echoing the Latin phrase from Luke 1 above which translates : To shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death. The contrasting group opposite is worshipping God, basking in the light that emanates from the symbol for God above. A pair of sea monsters frolic in the waves. Heinrich Scherer, professor of mathematics at Munich, was a devout Jesuit. Many of the maps and plates in his atlas emphasize the Catholic hierarchy and the spread of Jesuit missions throughout the world.

References: Norwich #68.

Condition: A+

Superb impression on a clean sheet with folds as issued.