Tabvla Asiae VIII

This very rare map summarizes Ptolemaic cartography of East Asia. It depicts the ancient region of Scythia, a vague area east of Europe, first noted by Herodotus. It was the eighth in a sequence of 12 maps of Asia as described by the 2nd century Egyptian cartographer, Claudius Ptolemy. Münster provides illustrations of "Blemmyae" (headless creatures with facial features in their chests) "Ymantopedes" (one-footed creatures) and "Cynocephali" (dog-headed peoples). Münster's "Geographia" was published in Basle in six Latin editions of 1540, 1541, 1542, 1545, 1551 and 1552. The Library's copy is from the first edition.