Sebastian Munster:  Sumatra Ein Grosse Insel / So Von Den alten Geographen Taprobana ist genent worden. . . (Sri Lanka)

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Title: Sumatra Ein Grosse Insel / So Von Den alten Geographen Taprobana ist genent worden. . . (Sri Lanka)

Map Maker: Sebastian Munster

Description:

Fantastic old color example of Munster's map of Taprobana (Sri Lanka?).

Large cartouche of a man riding an elephant. Both Sumatra and Sri Lanka have been associated with the mythical island of Taprobana.  In the earliest editions of his geographical works, Munster included this map which bears a striking resemblance to Sri Lanka, but in the second edition of this map, first published in 1579, the map is clearly intended to be Sumatra.

Sebastian Munster is generally regarded as one of the important map makers of the 16th Century. Munster was a linguist and mathematician, who initially taught Hebrew in Heidelberg. He issued his first mapping of Germany in 1529, after which he issued a call geographical information about Germany to scholars throughout the country. The response was better than hoped for, and included substantial foreign material, which supplied him with up to date, if not necessarily accurate maps for the issuance of his Geographia in 1540.  This work was issued in a number of editions and followed by his highly influential Cosmographia, which was first issed in 1544 and thereafter in a number of expanded editions until 1628.

Related Categories:
Maps of India