Rare Edition of Braun & Hogenberg's Alexandria

"Alexandria Vetustissimum Aegypti Emporium Amplissima Civitas...", Jansson, Jan

Fabulous bird's-eye view of the famous city of Alexandria, ancient Egyptian center of trade, which was founded by Alexander the Great in 320 BC. By the sixteenth century Alexandria was still a commercial port, but it had lost its political and economic importance after its capture by the Arabs in AD 642. The large, fortified city, centered on a beautiful mosque is located on the Nile Delta. Much of the city is in ruins but several important sites are still identifiable, including the lighthouse (Pharus), one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The city is surrounded by verdant countryside with people and camels and a variety of boats, galleys and ships filling the foreground. French text on verso.

This view was copied from Braun & Hogenberg's view of the city from their Civitates Orbis Terrarum. Jansson acquired the plates in 1653 and published his own atlases of town plans beginning in 1657. Some of the plates were reworked, and Jansson added 173 completely new plates to his work, including this one. As this view was only published in one edition, it is quite rare.

References: Shirley (BL Atlases) T.JAN-16a.

Condition: A

A superb impression on a clean, bright sheet with a professionally repaired centerfold separation confined to the top blank margin.