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All items are guaranteed authentic prints (woodcuts or engravings) or manuscripts made at or about (c.) the given date and in good condition unless stated otherwise. We don’t sell facsimiles or reproductions. We deliver every map with a Certificate of Authenticity containing all the details.

Antique map of Greece by Ptolemy 1478

"The new copper plates engraved at Rome for the 1478 edition of Ptolemy's 'Geography' are much superior in clarity and craftsmanship to those of the Bologna edition. There is evidence that work on the Rome edition had been started in 1473 or 1474, and several of the plates may have been engraved before those printed at Bologna in 1477. Two skilled printers of German origin carried out the printing: Conrad Sweynheym and his successor Arnold Buckinck; the publisher was Domitius Calderinus. Many consider the Rome plates the finest Ptolemaic plates until Gerard Mercator engraved his classical world atlas of 1578." (Shirley)

"Until the 1477 edition was definitively dated, this edition was thought to be the oldest engraved atlas. It was printed by Arnoldus Buckinck and is thought to be the only known book with his imprint. At first, the engraving was supervised by a German, Conrad Sweynheym of Main (d. 1477). His method of using a printing press for the copperplate maps and the fine engraving produced an excellent result. Domitius Calderinus of Verona edited the text; he collated various Latin manuscripts in the translation by Jacobus Angelus with an ancient Greek Manuscript, which had been amended by Geirgius Gemistus (d. 1450). Calderinus was a careful worker, and his edition was admired for its correctness, fine typography, and brilliant engraving. Christopher Colombus owned a copy of this edition, which he annotated. The edition's run is unknown, but it is considered scarce and, therefore, rare and important. ..." (Nordenskiöld)

Claudius Ptolemy   (c.100 – c.170 AD)

Claudius Ptolemy was a Greek-speaking scholar who lived in Alexandria during the second century CE, under Roman rule. Active around 100–170 CE, Ptolemy is regarded as one of the most influential astronomers, geographers, and mathematicians of the ancient world. His writings shaped scientific thought for more than a thousand years and formed a cornerstone of both Islamic and European scholarship during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.

Ptolemy is best known for two monumental works: the Almagest, which presented the geocentric model of the universe, and the Geographia, a systematic study of world geography. In the Geographia, he compiled coordinates for thousands of places and introduced methods for projecting the curved surface of the earth onto a flat map. Although many of his measurements were inaccurate by modern standards, his use of latitude and longitude established a scientific framework that profoundly influenced the history of cartography.

Ptolemy’s works survived through Byzantine and Islamic scholars before being rediscovered in Renaissance Europe, where they inspired a renewed interest in mathematics, astronomy, and mapmaking. Printed editions of the Geographia, including the famous Ulm editions of 1482 and 1486, brought his ideas to a wider audience and became foundational texts in the development of early modern geography.

Today, Ptolemy is remembered not only for the accuracy of his observations but also for his ambition to organise and describe the known world through mathematics and reason. His legacy marks a crucial bridge between the scientific traditions of antiquity and the intellectual revival of the Renaissance.

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Decima et Ultima Europe Tabula

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Item Number:  20919 Authenticity Guarantee

Category:  Antique maps > Europe > Southeastern Europe

Antique map of Greece by Ptolemy.

Title: Decima et Ultima Europe Tabula

Date: 1478.

Copper engraving, printed on paper.
Size (not including margins): 363 x 435mm (14.29 x 17.13 inches).
Verso: Blank.
Condition: Old-coloured, excellent.
Condition Rating: A+

From: Claudii Ptolemaei Alexandrini philosophi Geographiam Romae. Rome, 1478.

First available printed map, based on the trapezoidal prototype map of Nicolaus Germanus. Engraved under the supervision of Conrad Sweynheim and published in Rome by Buckinck.

"The new copper plates engraved at Rome for the 1478 edition of Ptolemy's 'Geography' are much superior in clarity and craftsmanship to those of the Bologna edition. There is evidence that work on the Rome edition had been started in 1473 or 1474, and several of the plates may have been engraved before those printed at Bologna in 1477. Two skilled printers of German origin carried out the printing: Conrad Sweynheym and his successor Arnold Buckinck; the publisher was Domitius Calderinus. Many consider the Rome plates the finest Ptolemaic plates until Gerard Mercator engraved his classical world atlas of 1578." (Shirley)

"Until the 1477 edition was definitively dated, this edition was thought to be the oldest engraved atlas. It was printed by Arnoldus Buckinck and is thought to be the only known book with his imprint. At first, the engraving was supervised by a German, Conrad Sweynheym of Main (d. 1477). His method of using a printing press for the copperplate maps and the fine engraving produced an excellent result. Domitius Calderinus of Verona edited the text; he collated various Latin manuscripts in the translation by Jacobus Angelus with an ancient Greek Manuscript, which had been amended by Geirgius Gemistus (d. 1450). Calderinus was a careful worker, and his edition was admired for its correctness, fine typography, and brilliant engraving. Christopher Colombus owned a copy of this edition, which he annotated. The edition's run is unknown, but it is considered scarce and, therefore, rare and important. ..." (Nordenskiöld)

Claudius Ptolemy   (c.100 – c.170 AD)

Claudius Ptolemy was a Greek-speaking scholar who lived in Alexandria during the second century CE, under Roman rule. Active around 100–170 CE, Ptolemy is regarded as one of the most influential astronomers, geographers, and mathematicians of the ancient world. His writings shaped scientific thought for more than a thousand years and formed a cornerstone of both Islamic and European scholarship during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.

Ptolemy is best known for two monumental works: the Almagest, which presented the geocentric model of the universe, and the Geographia, a systematic study of world geography. In the Geographia, he compiled coordinates for thousands of places and introduced methods for projecting the curved surface of the earth onto a flat map. Although many of his measurements were inaccurate by modern standards, his use of latitude and longitude established a scientific framework that profoundly influenced the history of cartography.

Ptolemy’s works survived through Byzantine and Islamic scholars before being rediscovered in Renaissance Europe, where they inspired a renewed interest in mathematics, astronomy, and mapmaking. Printed editions of the Geographia, including the famous Ulm editions of 1482 and 1486, brought his ideas to a wider audience and became foundational texts in the development of early modern geography.

Today, Ptolemy is remembered not only for the accuracy of his observations but also for his ambition to organise and describe the known world through mathematics and reason. His legacy marks a crucial bridge between the scientific traditions of antiquity and the intellectual revival of the Renaissance.

References: Zacharakis - 1802; Karrow - 32/11; Shirley (Brit.Lib.) - T.Ptol.2a
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