Bunting's Rare Map of Asia in the Form of a Pegasus

"Asia Secunda Pars Terrae in Forma Pegasi", Bunting, Heinrich

Among the earliest cartographic oddities are the famous maps from Heinrich Bunting's unusual travel book based on the Bible. This woodblock map of Asia is presented as the mythical winged horse, Pegasus. The horse is drawn fairly realistically, so that a good deal of imagination is required to view the map. The head represents Asia Minor with the mouth at Istanbul. The wings portray Central Asia and Siberia with the Caspian Sea laying horizontally between the wings and the saddle. Persia is delineated on the horse blanket with the forelegs forming Arabia. The hind legs represent the Indian and Malay peninsulas. A ship, a sea creature and mermaids fill the seas. German text on verso.

References: Hill, p.39; Suarez, Fig. 54; Tooley, MCC-1 # 3; Yeo #8; Hoppen #8.

Condition: B

An excellent impression with light soiling and a 1cm hole at the center of the image that has been archivally repaired with a minor amount of image replaced in facsimile. A centerfold separation in the top margin has also been archivally repaired, and there are a couple of additional separations along the centerfold that remain unrepaired. There are tiny chips and tears along the edges of the sheet and small remnants of hinge tape on verso.