Title
Von Transsylvania, Siebenbürgen - Sebastian Münster - 1544
Description
This print is a folio page from a German edition of the monumental geographical treatise, the Cosmographia. The page features two German-language descriptions, with the overarching subject being the southeastern European territories. The central woodcut is a regional map focusing on Transylvania (Siebenbürgen), Wallachia, Bulgaria, and Macedonia, showing the Danube River and the western shore of the Black Sea (Pontus). The map details the geographical and political situation of these lands, which were of strategic importance during the 16th century. The text above the map provides a separate chapter, Cap. lxvj, focusing on the Wallachians and their customs.
Date
Circa 1544–1568 ( undated )
Dimension
Approximately 33 × 20 cm
Condition
Woodcut with letterpress text on laid paper. This work is in good condition overall. There may be a few minor imperfections or fox or mottled marks to be expected with age.
Author:
Sebastian Münster (1488 - 1552) was a German cartographer, cosmographer, and professor at the University of Basel. His major work, the Cosmographia (first published 1544), was one of the most successful and widely reprinted geographical books of the 16th century. It utilized thousands of woodcuts to illustrate the cities, maps, customs, and natural history of the world.