Catalog Archive
Auction 137, Lot 31

Ritter's Fascinating Sundial World Map

"[Untitled - World]", Ritter, Franz

Subject: World

Period: 1640 (published)

Publication: Speculum Solis…

Color: Black & White

Size:
14.5 x 11.3 inches
36.8 x 28.7 cm
Download High Resolution Image
(or just click on image to launch the Zoom viewer)

This scarce and extremely unusual map shows the world projected from the North Pole as if it were the table of a sundial. The landmasses are drawn to scale in proportion to their distance from the pole. The result is a very distorted, though mathematically correct, projection. The map is filled with engravings of animals, sea monsters, ships, and a few bizarre characters, such as a pair of headless humans, and is surrounded by a floral border. This is the second state.

References: Shirley #270.

Condition: A

Fine impression with faint soiling in borders. Blank margins have been professionally remargined with a bit of very skilled facsimile in the border at left.

Estimate: $14,000 - $17,000

Sold for: $8,500

Closed on 9/14/2011

Archived