APIANUS, Peter (1495-1552) & MELA, Pomponius (fl. AD 43).
Tipus orbis universalis iuxta Ptolemei cosmographi traditionem et Americi Vespucii aliorque lustrationes a Petro Apiano Leysnico elucbrat An. Do. MDXX.
Woodcut. Vienna, 1520.
12 3/4" x 17 3/4" sheet, 24" x 29 1/2" framed.
With Accompanying book: De Orbis situ libri tres. Basel: Andreas Cratander, 1522.

PROVENANCE: Convent of St Joseph, Innsbruck (inscription at upper margin of title); Christie’s, 11/16/2005 - 50,400 GBP ($86,441).2 parts in one volume, folio (12 x 8 in.; 30.5 x 20.3 cm). Title with woodcut historiated border signed HF, woodcut border for part 2 title, numerous woodcut historiated and foliated initials, double-page woodcut cordiform map of the world, woodcut printer’s device on terminal leaf; conjugate leaves a3.4 loose, early tape repair to bottom margin of a4, a few short tears to bottom margin of preliminaries, light dampstaining to bottom margins throughout, more pronounced in latter half of text, margins of map skillfully restored, affecting some letters. Map is separately framed. Contemporary blindstamped paneled German pigskin; slightly soiled and rubbed, ties lacking, foot of spine repaired. AN EXTREMELY IMPORTANT WORK CONTAINING PETRUS APIANUS' MAP OF THE WORLD, “Tipus Orbis Universalis iuxta Ptolomei Cosmographi . . . MDXX,” THE EARLIEST AVAILABLE MAP TO NAME THE NEWLY DISCOVERED CONTINENT "AMERICA." The practice of inserting world maps in geoegraphical texts flourished in the early sixteenth century, in many cases being one of the few ways that these rare maps have survived down the years. Apian's striking truncated cordiform projection of the world is derived from Waldseemüller's monumental 1507 wall map and first appeared in the 1520 Viennese edition of Solinus's Polyhistor. The map is also sometimes found in Mela's De situ orbis (Basel, 1522), and copies were probably also sold separately.The lengthy title acknowledges the discoveries of Amerigo Vespucci, and two wreaths set in the lower corners recognize with monograms Apian's collaborators: "L. F." for Laurent Fries, a draughtsman, woodcutter, and significant mapmaker in his own right; "J. K." for Johann Kamers (Johannes Camertius), the publisher; and "L. A." for Luca Alantses, who paid for the production of the map. The title translates as "Delineation of the entire world prepared according to the teaching of Ptolemy the cosmographer, and the voyages of Americus Vespuccius and others by Peter Apian of Leissig."By 1520 Apianus had gathered information from the most advanced maps yet produced in Europe, including the 1507 Martin Waldseemuller wall map (subsequently lost for almost 400 years) and perhaps the globes of Johan Schoner (ca. 1515). Apianus collected cartographical knowledge and refined these maps to produce a cordiform (heart-shaped) world map with the land mass of the New World labeled America. This map later appeared in various forms in Apianus’s famous and widely-circulated published works. Thus, for almost four hundred years, this 1520 world map was known as the source of the cartographic term “America” coined after the great explorer Amerigo Vespucci. In addition to the dramatic popularization of the term America, the map is significant as one of a handful of maps and gores from this early period to present the American continents as separate from Asia. In gauging the significance of this map, it is interesting to note that in an appendix to Ptolemy’s Atlas with additions by Waldseemuller in 1513, although the land mass of the Americas is represented, the term America was not used. Soon, however, Apianus was to popularize the term America in the present map and then in his influential Cosmographies.John Rennie Short Description: "Peter Apianus (1495- 1522), also known as Peter Apian was a mapmaker at the emergence of modern cartography. He was and a bridge from older traditions to modern cartography. His work always pays due reference to one of the earliest known mapmakers, Claudius Ptolemy (c127-c145) who worked in the great Library of Alexandria, building up geographical data of the then known world. His work was transmitted to the Renaissance in Europe via the Arab world. A world map bases on his observations first appeared in Vicenza in 1475. Other editions soon appeared all over Europe. This map by Apian uses a cordiform, or heart shaped ,projection. It also includes material on the New World obviously unknown to Ptolemy. The voyages of Vespucci referred to in the map refer to letters from Vespucci claiming the discovery of America a year before Columbus. The letter were forgeries, probably made in Florence to show how the Florentine Vespucci outdid the Genoaan Columbus. Despite the forgery, the name lived on. A heart-shaped map, drawing on an ancient geographer and a set of forged letters. It contains all the murkiness of the very early maps with the promise of the modern. The fact that Vespucci’s claims are an early example of “fake news” only adds to the modern character of this map." Church 45. Sabin 86390; Shirley 45; Harrisse, The Discovery of North America 126; Harrisse, Bibliotheca Americana Vetustissima 108.