Africa Nuova Tavola

This map is 442 years old; it comes from one of the most famous geography texts and the second 'pocket atlas' ever published. Every collection of antique maps of South Africa must have at least one of the editions of this map attributed to Ruscelli.

In 1761, Girolamo Ruscelli also translated Ptolemy's Geographia into Italian and expanded it to produce the second small format version. Ruscelli was also known as Alessio Piemontese (Alexius Pedemontanus), in which name he published The (famous) Secrets of Alexis of Piedmont. Ruscelli, to whom the map traditionally is attributed, had nothing to do with the map; Livio Sanuto designed and his brother Giulio engraved the map - such is the world of old maps!

This map was published from one copperplate between 1561 and 1598; two sea creaturess were added for the 1598/9 editions. The clue to dating all but the last two editions is not on the map but the text on the recto of the first of the two pages across which the map is printed: the language, Italian or Latin, the the illuminated first letter of the text.

With regard to this example of the map, the text is Italian and the fist letter is an N within which a satyr is sitting, his head against a pillar that is the left vertical stroke of the letter. The satyr is examining a globe, which he is holding in front him. this means that this example of the map was published in 1574; Giordano Ziletti published athis posthumous edition of the Geographia,  now with Ruscelli’s Italian text revised by Giovanni Malombra. 

The map is in good condition. There is some staining above the headline caused by adhesive tape and there is  small area of loss outside the plate line at the bottom right - and a small tear from the page margin to the longitude scale on the page opposite. These defects will be professionally restored before the commencement of the auction. There is also 442 years of accumulated surface dirt which gently will be removed. Anupdated image will also be posted.

Tooley pp 46 - 47 (under Gastaldi, who earlier published a similar but smaller map); Norwich #151.