"Abissinorum sive Pretiosi Ioannis Imperiu", Mercator/Hondius

The legendary kingdom of the Christian Prester John is the central focus of this impressive map of central Africa. It is cartographically similar to Ortelius' map, based on the travels of the Portuguese explorer Francisco Alveres, who searched for the mythical kingdom in 1520. The kingdom itself is shown atop the Amara Mons in the region that Alveres encountered the Coptic Christian ruler David II. The large inset of the Congo region, also based on Ortelius, illustrates the travels of another Portuguese explorer, Duarte Lopez. The Nile is shown with its source in the Ptolemaic twin lakes of Zaire and Zaflan, at the foot of the Mountains of the Moon (Lunae Montes). The stunning sheet is graced with strapwork title and scale of miles cartouches and a bold moire patterned sea. Latin text on verso.

References: Van der Krogt (Vol. I) #8720:1A.

Condition: B+

A dark impression with light toning along the centerfold, a bit of printer's ink residue, and dampstaining in the blank margins. A few short centerfold separations in the bottom blank margin have been partially repaired on recto, and there are some tiny tears along the edges of the sheet.