Beschreibung:

WORLD - TRAMEZZINO, MICHELE ( fl. 1546-62).
WORLD - TRAMEZZINO, MICHELE ( fl. 1546-62). [The World]. Venice: Michele Tramezzino, 1554. Engraved map of the World by Guilio de' Musi, on two separate sheets, each comprised of two joined sheets, each hemisphere 750mm in diameter. (Browned and discoloured, some tearing and loss to edges of image of both hemispheres.) A VERY RARE AND HIGHLY IMPORTANT WORLD MAP, a "Masterpiece of Renaissance Cartography". It represents the greatest accomplishment of Michele Tramezzino, who was renown for the unrivaled quality of the engraved maps he produced at his two establishments, in Venice and Rome. The World is elegantly rendered in two hemispheres on a homolographic meridian projection, first devised by Roger Bacon in the thirteenth-century. The map is especially fascinating, as it has no clear single antecedent, being one of the few Italian maps of the time totally independent of the influence of Giacomo Gastaldi. South America shows the influence of Sebastian Cabot's World map of 1544, prominently depicting the estuary of the River Plate and the serpentine course of the Amazon. As in Mercator's celebrated bi-cordiform world map of 1538, North America and Asia are separated, however Tremezini adds more detail to the west coast of North America, most notably the inclusion of the Californian peninsula. In Asia, the Moluccas are drawn in great detail, and the extensive taxonomy of the coasts of the Indian Ocean in both that continent and in Africa indicate significant Portuguese sources. A curious detail of the map is its presentation of a large southern landmass girding three-quarters of the Antarctic Circle, while still leaving the Pole surrouned by sea. A truly unique work, Shirley declared that the "map stands on its own as a masterpiece of Renaissance cartography without any obvious source, or indeed any imitators". Burden no.22, Shirley:1983 no.97, Woodward:1996 watermark 194; sold not subject to return. (2)