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Sebastian Münster (1488-1552) was a cosmographer and professor of Hebrew who taught at Tübingen, Heidelberg, and Basel. He settled in the latter in 1529 and died there, of plague, in 1552. Münster made himself the center of a large network of scholars from whom he obtained geographic descriptions, maps, and directions.

As a young man, Münster joined the Franciscan order, in which he became a priest. He then studied geography at Tübingen, graduating in 1518. He moved to Basel, where he published a Hebrew grammar, one of the first books in Hebrew published in Germany. In 1521 Münster moved again, to Heidelberg, where he continued to publish Hebrew texts and the first German-produced books in Aramaic. After converting to Protestantism in 1529, he took over the chair of Hebrew at Basel, where he published his main Hebrew work, a two-volume Old Testament with a Latin translation.

Münster published his first known map, a map of Germany, in 1525. Three years later, he released a treatise on sundials. In 1540, he published Geographia universalis vetus et nova, an updated edition of Ptolemy’s Geographia. In addition to the Ptolemaic maps, Münster added 21 modern maps. One of Münster’s innovations was to include one map for each continent, a concept that would influence Ortelius and other early atlas makers. The Geographia was reprinted in 1542, 1545, and 1552.  

He is best known for his Cosmographia universalis, first published in 1544 and released in at least 35 editions by 1628. It was the first German-language description of the world and contained 471 woodcuts and 26 maps over six volumes. Many of the maps were taken from the Geographia and modified over time. The Cosmographia was widely used in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The text, woodcuts, and maps all influenced geographical thought for generations.

Place/Date:
Basle / 1550 circa
Size:
14.8 x 10.8 inches (including text)
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
77890
Place/Date:
Basle / 1550 circa
Size:
6 x 10 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
78197
Place/Date:
Basel / 1550 circa
Size:
6 x 4.25 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
78391
Place/Date:
Basel / 1555
Size:
5.25 x 5 inches
Condition:
Good
Stock#:
78565
Place/Date:
Basel / 1555 circa
Size:
7.4 x 5.9 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
78641
Place/Date:
Basel / 1550 circa
Size:
14.25 x 10 inches (including text)
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
78765
Place/Date:
Basel / 1550 circa
Size:
15.5 x 10 inches Including Text
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
78805
Place/Date:
Basel / 1550 circa
Size:
15.25 x 10 inches (including text)
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
78931
Place/Date:
Basel / 1554
Size:
30.5 x 9.5 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
80195
Place/Date:
Basle / 1554
Size:
7 x 10.5 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
87154
Place/Date:
Basle / 1575 circa
Size:
15.5 x 9.5 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
87984
Place/Date:
Basel / 1588 (1598)
Size:
14 x 12.5 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
89306
Place/Date:
Basel / 1560 circa
Size:
14 x 11 inches
Condition:
See Description
Stock#:
90175
Place/Date:
Basel / 1540
Size:
13.5 x 10.5 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
94608
Place/Date:
Basel / 1540
Size:
13.5 x 10.5 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
94616
Place/Date:
Basle / 1540
Size:
13 x 10.5 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
94618
Place/Date:
Basle / 1540
Size:
13.5 x 10 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
94639
Place/Date:
Basel / 1545
Size:
13.5 x 10.5 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
95284
Place/Date:
Basel / 1550 circa
Size:
13.5 x 10.5 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
95847
Place/Date:
Basle / 1540
Size:
15 x 11.5 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
95908
Place/Date:
Basle / 1540
Size:
13.5 x 10 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
95910
Place/Date:
Basel / 1540
Size:
14 x 10.5 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
95914
Place/Date:
Basel / 1540
Size:
13.5 x 10 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
95917
Place/Date:
Basle / 1540
Size:
13.5 x 11 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
94703
Place/Date:
Basle / 1540
Size:
13.5 x 10 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
96984
Place/Date:
Basel / 1540
Size:
13.5 x 11 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
97005

Archived

Place/Date:
Basle / 1579
Size:
15 x 6 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
10959
Place/Date:
Basle / 1579
Size:
14 x 9.5 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
10960
Place/Date:
Basle / 1579
Size:
11.5 x 6.5 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
10961
Place/Date:
Basle / 1579
Size:
11.5 x 7 inches
Condition:
Stock#:
10962
Place/Date:
Basle / 1579
Size:
6.5 x 5 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
10963
Place/Date:
Basle / 1579
Size:
14 x 8 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
10964
Place/Date:
Basle / 1579
Size:
14 x 10 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
10967
Place/Date:
Basle / 1579
Size:
14 x 8 inches
Condition:
VG-
Stock#:
10968
Place/Date:
Basle / 1579
Size:
6.5 x 4 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
10969
Place/Date:
Basle / 1579
Size:
3 x 3 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
10970
Place/Date:
Basle / 1579
Size:
15 x 9 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
10971
Place/Date:
Basle / 1579
Size:
6.5 x 4 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
10972
Place/Date:
Basle / 1579
Size:
5 x 3 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
10973
Place/Date:
Basle / 1579
Size:
7 x 5 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
10974
Place/Date:
Basle / 1579
Size:
11.5 x 7 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
10975
Place/Date:
Basle / 1579
Size:
10 x 6 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
10976
Place/Date:
Basle / 1579
Size:
14.5 x 9 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
10978
Place/Date:
Basel / 1574
Size:
14 x 10 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
10979
Place/Date:
Basle / 1579
Size:
5.5 x 4 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
10980
Place/Date:
Basle / 1579
Size:
6.5 x 6 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
10981
Place/Date:
Basle / 1579
Size:
8 x 6 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
10982
Place/Date:
Basle / 1579
Size:
6 x 5 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
10983
Place/Date:
Basle / 1570
Size:
9.5 x 7 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
10984
Place/Date:
Basle / 1579
Size:
6.5 x 5.5 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
10985
Place/Date:
Basle / 1579
Size:
6 x 5 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
10987
Place/Date:
Basle / 1579
Size:
5.5 x 4 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
10988
Place/Date:
Basle / 1579
Size:
5.5 x 4 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
10989
Place/Date:
Basle / 1579
Size:
6.5 x 5 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
10990
Place/Date:
Basle / 1570
Size:
14 x 10 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
10991
Place/Date:
Basle / 1570
Size:
14 x 10 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
10992
Place/Date:
Basle / 1570
Size:
14 x 10 inches
Condition:
VG-
Stock#:
10993
Place/Date:
Basle / 1560
Size:
13.5 x 10 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
10994
Place/Date:
Basle / 1579
Size:
14 x 10 inches
Condition:
Stock#:
10995
Place/Date:
Basel / 1570
Size:
11 x 7 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
15148
Place/Date:
Venice / 1545
Size:
13.5 x 10 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
15154
Place/Date:
Basle / 1550
Size:
15 x 11 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
11287
Place/Date:
Basel / 1570
Size:
11 x 7 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
11300
Place/Date:
London / 1579
Size:
13 x 11 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
11301
Place/Date:
London / 1598
Size:
15 x 12 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
11302
Place/Date:
Basle / 1570
Size:
6.5 x 5.5 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
11379
Place/Date:
Basle / 1545
Size:
13.5 x 10 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
1149p
Place/Date:
Basel / 1570
Size:
15 x 8 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
11601
Place/Date:
Basel / 1570
Size:
7 x 6.5 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
11604
Place/Date:
Basle / 1552
Size:
15 x 12 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
11637
Place/Date:
Basle / 1579
Size:
6 x 4 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
11907
Place/Date:
Basle / 1550 circa
Size:
13.5 x 10.5 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
12031
Place/Date:
Basel / 1552
Size:
13.5 x 10 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
12032
Place/Date:
Basle / 1558
Size:
15 x 11 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
12083
Place/Date:
Basel / 1550
Size:
11.5 x 6 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
12702
Place/Date:
Basle / 1554
Size:
15 x 11 inches
Condition:
VG-
Stock#:
12722