1552 (undated)
1 : 50000000
Description
This is an excellent 1552 Latin example of Sebastian Münster s map of America, the first printed map of the Western Hemisphere. The map first appeared in Münster s 1540 edition of Ptolemy s
Geographia, one of the earliest versions of the classical work to systematically include maps showing contemporary geographical knowledge. Beginning in 1544, the map would be included in Münster s magnum opus,
Cosmographia Universalis, which for over forty years was the primary source for anyone interested in world geography. Consequently, this map had a disproportionate impact, providing the first glimpse of the New World to Europeans for nearly half a century.
Cosmographia, in which this map appeared until about 1569. Whereas
Geographia only appeared in Latin, Münster s new work was published in German, Latin, French, and Italian (the sole Czech edition of 1554 had only one map of Bohemia). The movable stereotype text with which the map was lettered exhibits slight variations from edition to edition, as does the verso text. Also, the cracks would increase in severity until 1571 or 1572, when the badly worn woodblock was replaced with a similar (but easily distinguishable) woodcut which remained in Münster s opus until 1578, with the exception of the Italian editions of 1571 and 1575, which appear to have been produced using maps printed for the Italian 1558 edition. All editions of 1588 and later contained new maps derived from Ortelius.
The oldest tree in the East End is a black mulberry in Bethnal Green. Since 2017, it has also been the subject of furious dispute. The developers Crest Nicholson want to move it out of the way of a planned block of luxury flats, just 35 per cent of them ‘affordable’. After three years of campaigning, and an online petition garnering more than 16,000 signatures, local residents have secured it a temporary stay of execution (the campaigners argue that relocating the tree, as Crest Nicholson and Tower Hamlets Council have agreed to do, will likely kill it). In January, the High Court ordered a judicial review of the proposals (scheduled for 4–5 May). The Bethnal Green tree is not the only mulberry in London under threat. Six miles away, residents of the Park View Estate in Islington are beginning their own similar challenge, to developers’ proposals to fell a 70-year-old tree from which they still make annual mulberry jam.