"Universi Orbis Descriptio", Magini and Porro

Girolama Porro originally engraved this map for Giovanni Magini's quarto edition of Ptolemy's Geographia in 1596. It is based on Abraham Ortelius' world map on an oval projection. The most notable features are the large landmasses at both poles. Six wind-heads are arranged above and below the map. The map was very popular and subsequently appeared in Lasor a Varea's work more than a century after it was first engraved. Rafael Savonarola published this work under the pseudonym of Alonso Lasor de Varea because his own name was still associated with the infamous Dominican priest, Girolamo Savonarola. Savonarola, the leader of Florence from 1494 to 1498, was known for his book burning in the Bonfire of the Vanities. This is the Cologne edition of the plate with the misspellings of Terra icognita and Circulus Anterticus. Latin text on verso.

References: Shirley #203.

Condition: A

Watermarked paper with one tiny tear in bottom blank margin that has been closed with archival tape.