Ruscelli, Girolamo “Anglia et Hibernia Nova"

Girolamo Ruscelli.  “Anglia et Hibernia Nova.” 

Venice: Giordano Ziletti, [1561].  7 x 9 3/4.  Engraving.  Inking is somewhat light on river and mountain detail due to worm plate.  Light foxing in margins.  Several small worn holes along center fold at top.  Nicely framed between two sheets of glass to show text on verso.  Else, good condition.  Sold as is.  A/A

Girolamo Ruscelli’s modern rendition of the British Isles, issued in his translation of Ptolemy’s Geography.  Based upon the 1546 Lily map of Great Britain, the best depiction of the British Isles at the time, this map stands in startling contrast to Ruscelli’s Ptolemaic depiction issued in the same atlas.  Scotland has been straightened into its correct northerly direction, and recognizable rivers and towns, including London, Lincoln, York, Edinburgh, etc., appear with a good degree of accuracy.  Surrounding islands are also well illustrated, including the Isle of Wight, Anglesey, the Isle of Man, the Shetlands, and the Hebrides.  An excellent early map of the British Isles.