Peter Apian (1495-1552). Tipus Orbis Universalis...1520

Peter APIAN (1495-1552) & Pomponius MELA (fl. AD 43)Tipus Orbis Universalis Iuxta Ptolomei Cosmographi Traditionem et Americi Vespucii Aliorque Lustrationesa Petro Apiano Leysnico Elucbrat An. Do. MDXXVienna, 1520Sheet: 12 3/4” x 17 3/4”, framed: 24” x 29 1/2” Fine woodcut map of the world in a cordiform projection by Laurent Fries, the title within a banner along the top edge, with a globe and sphere hanging beneath, the compass directions outside the neat line, showing North and South America, all surrounded by an elaborate border of windheads, wreaths and clouds. THE FIRST AVAILABLE PRINTED MAP TO BEAR THE NAME AMERICA Europe’s sixteenth-century quest for geographical knowledge was primarily driven by trade. Europeans sought maritime routes to the East that could avoid the long, uncertain and expensive overland routes we call the Silk Road. As explorations revealed the existence of new lands, as well as a clearer picture of known but distant ones, mapping took on new importance.