PTOLEMY (Claudius). &
MAGINI (Giovanni Antonio).
Geografia cioe` Descrittione Universale della terra partita in due volumi ... XXVII. Tauole Antiche di Tolomeo, e XXXVII. altre Moderne, tutte reuiste, & in alcuni luoghi accresciute, & illustrate da ricchissimi Commentar? di detto Sig. Magini ...
Uncommon edition of Ptolemy’s Geografia, as published by Magini in 1596, subsequently edited by Leonard Cernoti, here reprinted in 1621.
Giovanni Antonio Magini (1555-1617) was the leading mapmaker of his day working in Italy, author of the first printed atlas devoted to Italy, and also a very important (and rare) wall-map of Italy. Because of the rarity of these works, he is perhaps best known for this edition of Ptolemy, which met both with critical and commercial success, and was reprinted to 1621. Magini’s edition is significant for the greatly expanded commentary to the maps that he added. The maps were engraved by Girolamo Porro (1529-1600), the most famous of the Italian map engravers of the period, best known for the island maps in Tomaso Porcacchi’s Isole piu famose del Mondo, 1572, although his work is found in many illustrated books of the period. Porro was praised for the delicacy of his work, despite the handicap of poor vision in one eye.
The map of Forum Julii is notable for containing a compass on which is shown magnetic variation. This edition is larger format than usual, as it has the maps printed above text, which continues on the verso.
References: Shirley, T.PTOL-12c; Nordenskiold Collection Catalogue, II, 233.
