’ was translated into Latin from the original Greek by Jacobus Angelus and was first published, during the Renaissance, at Vicenza (1475, unillustrated), Bologna (1477) and Rome (1478). The sumptuous edition published by 

 at Ulm in 1482, and retitled as ‘Cosmographia’, however, far surpassed all earlier efforts and remains one of the most important publications in the history of cartography.

The Ulm Ptolemy’s lovely vibrant hand colouring deserves special mention. The wonderfully rich blues of the seas are made from lapis lazuli, a semi-precious stone mined almost exclusively in Afghanistan. This resulting “aquamarine” was the most expensive and prized pigment of the late-Medieval and early Renaissance periods. 



 (fl. 1478–1492) arrived in Ulm, a German city of wealthy traders and merchants at the confluence of the Blau, Ille, and Danube rivers, in 1478. The ‘Cosmographia’ of 1482 was his first publication, however, the venture and its luxurious embellishments proved ruinously expensive, and his business would go bankrupt shortly after. The remaining sheets, the woodblocks and the types passed to 

 in Ulm, who reissued the work in 1486. 

Holl’s ‘Cosmographia’ is one of firsts: the first redaction of the ‘

’ to be printed outside Italy; the earliest atlas printed in Germany; the first to reflect contemporary discoveries; the first to be illustrated with woodcuts rather than engravings; the first to contain hand-coloured maps; the first to ascribe design and execution to a named cartographer; and the first to incorporate the five “modern maps” by Nicolaus Germanus of Spain, France, Italy, the Holy Land, and Northern Europe. Despite being the first atlas published outside Italy, it was printed on the finest imported Italian paper with payment made in part by complete copies of the finished atlas.

The representation of the world itself is on an ovoid projection stretching from the Western Atlantic across to Asia. It covers 180 degrees of longitude encompassing one half of the known globe as it was understood by Claudius Ptolemy in 150 CE. Nicolaus Germanus is depicted in the first illuminated letter of the atlas presenting his book to the dedicatee Pope Paul II.

Generally, the world is shown as it was understood by the Alexandrine ancients, on a Ptolemaic projection extending from Great Britain in the northwest, the Canary Islands in the west, mid-China in the east, and North Africa in the south; the Indian Ocean features a large island, Taprobana (Sri Lanka) with the new addition of a rudimentary Scandinavia within an extension of the map above the neatline, the whole surrounded by a broad decorative border including twelve windheads.

Africa is connected to Asia by a southern land bridge turning the Indian Ocean into a land-locked sea. There is a note, ironically repeated on Africa, that these southern ‘Lands were unknown to Ptolemy’. Following classical geography, the Nile is shown rising from two great lakes fed from rivers in the Mountains of the Moon. The outline of the western coast of Africa extending down towards the equator follows the Ptolemaic model but with several additional place names and details deriving from fifteenth century Portuguese-sponsored exploration along the coast by explorers such as 

.

Interestingly, China is split between The Kingdom of Sina (China) in the south, and further north, the Kingdom of Serica (Silk). This division of China may come from the inability of the Greeks and Romans of the Classical period to correlate the differing accounts of reaching China by the overland and the maritime routes and the subsequent failure to realise that the terminus of both routes was the same.

This is the first printed world map to extend the actual territory shown below the Tropic of Capricorn; and is also the earliest printed map to show the northernmost reaches of the Atlantic Ocean, heralding the dawn of the age of exploration and the colonial world.

’s ‘Cosmographia’, a new edition of Claudius Ptolemy’s ‘

’ often referred to as the ‘Ulm Ptolemy’, is one of the foundational pieces of Early Modern cartography. This magnificent map is a powerful demonstration of how the surviving remnants of geographical knowledge from the Classical era formed the basis of European exploration in the Early Modern world.

Holl’s map is based on the work of Nicolaus Germanus a Benedictine monk of Reichenbach Abbey in Bavaria whose revision of Ptolemy’s ‘

’ were highly influential in the last quarter of the century. Holl’s edition is based on the second recension of Germanus’s work. The world map was drawn using the homeotheric projection which Ptolemy called superior but more difficult to construct. 

The map is also the first to have been signed by its creator, Johannes Schnitzer (“woodcutter” in German) of Armsheim, in the block along the top edge “Insculptum est per Johane Schnitzer de Armszheim”. Armsheim is over 250 kilometres from Ulm and this map is a clear indication of the large distances skilled craftsmen were willing to travel to earn commissions in the early Renaissance period. In trademark fashion Johannes reversed every capital “N” on the map. He also updated the world map with improvements based on the manuscripts of Germanus and inadvertently provided two Tropics of Cancer.

One of the most celebrated early world maps, this Ptolemaic projection comes from 

’s ‘Cosmographia’, now better known as the Ulm Ptolemy. It drew from recent discoveries to create a fusion of the latest cartographic information with classical knowledge. Printed from a woodblock, this is the first map to be signed by its creator, ‘Johanne Schnitzer, 

ter, of Armszheim’.

Perhaps the most striking features of this map are the luminous pigments used in its original hand colouring. They include lapis lazuli, transported from Afghanistan, which rendered the rich blue shades. Such pigments were extremely expensive and likely contributed to Holl’s bankruptcy shortly after the atlas’s publication.


Claudius Ptolemy made two major errors in his calculations of the size of the globe, and the configuration of Asia, both of which would have far-reaching consequences later. He adopted the estimate of the size of the earth from the astronomer, mathematician, and geographer, Hipparchus rather than the more accurate Eratosthenes, resulting in an assumed circumference nearly a third smaller than reality. He further exaggerated the eastward extent of Asia.

Christopher Columbus, using these figures, underestimated the distance he needed to travel west from Europe before he would reach the western coast of Cathay and the fabled Indies. Columbus took his plans for his proposed voyage to the Indies to the obvious choice, the Royal Court of Portugal, the preeminent promoters of exploration. His proposals were rejected on the grounds that, firstly, they were too expensive, secondly, he planned on sailing in the opposite direction to Portugal’s preferred route to the Indies via Cape Horn, and finally, that Columbus was wrong in his calculation of the distance to be travelled and that he and his crew would perish long before they reached land.

After having also been turned down by Henry VII of England, Columbus was reduced to going cap in hand to Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain. Thanks to Isabella’s enthusiastic support, Columbus was finally able to get the necessary financial and material backing for his voyage. His discoveries in the 

 would in turn help transform Spain from a recently unified country impoverished by decades of conflict, into one of the most powerful and wealthy maritime nations in Europe.

The first woodcut map on a Ptolemaic projection, hand-coloured with lapis lazuli. It is also the first known map to be signed by the artist: ‘Insculptum est per Johane Schnitzer de Armszheim’, who left a further stamp of his individuality by inverting every capital “N” on the map.

This is the first map to extend the territory shown below the Tropic of Capricorn, and the earliest printed map to show the northernmost reaches of the Atlantic Ocean. It was issued both individually and as part of 

’s ‘Cosmographia’, the first atlas printed outside Italy.


Double-page woodcut map of the world, with contemporary hand-colour in full.

The Ulm Ptolemy World Map, with lapis lazuli colouring