Ruscelli, Girolamo “TABULA EUROPA II"

Girolamo Ruscelli after Giacomo Gastaldi. “TABULA EUROPA II.”

Venice: Giordano Ziletti, [1561]-1574. 7 1/2 x 10 (platemarks) plus full margins.  Engraving.  Woodblock decorations on back.  Slight book worm damage at top of centerfold.  Otherwise, fine condition.

An enlarged version of Gastaldi’s map of the Iberian Peninsula.  Both geographers produced ancient maps based on Ptolemy’s depictions and simultaneously issued modern or Renaissance maps.  Here is a beautifully engraved map that was printed in Venice when creativity and commerce were the heart of that city.