Girolamo Ruscelli:  Tabula Africae III

	(Click Image To Enlarge)

Title: Tabula Africae III

Map Maker: Girolamo Ruscelli

Description:

Striking dark impression of Ruscelli's map of a part of North Africa and the Mediterranean, showing the north coast of Africa including Egypt and the Nile River.  In cludes a manuscript annotation about the wortk Aethiopia (Abisinia?), which was added by an early hand.

Ruscelli's Atlas is an expanded edition of Gastaldi's Geographiae of 1548, which has been called the most comprehensive atlas produced between Martin Waldseemüller's Geographiae of 1513, and the Abraham Ortelius Theatrum of 1570. Ruscelli and Gastaldi's maps were beautifully engraved on copper, marking a turning point in the history of cartography. From that point forward, the majority of cartographic works used this medium. As it was a harder material than wood it gave the engraver the ability to render more detail.

Related Categories:
Maps of Egypt
Maps of North Africa