Pembroke, Thomas Herbert, Earl of, 1656-1733, former owner Berlinghieri, Francesco, 1440-1501. Geographia Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery. Manuscript. HM 1092
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Description
ff. 1v-2. [World map from Francesco Berlinghieri's Geographia]. One engraved world map extracted from the incunable Francesco Berlinghieri's Geographia; hand colored with gold leaf border, nomenclature overtraced in color or gold; some water damage. ff. 3v-54. [Portolan atlas]: ff. 3v-4, British Isles (with part of Thule at top right); ff. 5v-6, Spain and Portugal; ff. 7v-8, France; ff. 9v-10, Germany; ff. 11v-12, Northern Adriatic region, Italy and Yugoslavia; ff. 13v-14, Italy, Corsica; ff. 15v-16, Sardinia, Sicily; ff. 17v-18, Baltic Sea to Black Sea; ff. 19v-20, Adriatic Sea to Black Sea; ff. 21v-22, Greece; ff. 23v-24, Northwest Africa; ff. 25v-26, North central Africa; ff. 27v-28, Northeast Africa; ff. 29v-30, Northern half of Africa; ff. 31v-32, Turkey; ff. 33v-34, Russia (Sarmatia); ff. 35v-36, Black Sea to Caspian Sea; ff. 37v-38, Mediterranean Sea to Persian Gulf; ff. 39v-40, Caspian Sea to Persian Gulf; ff. 41v-42, Red Sea to Persian Gulf; ff. 43v-44, Central Asia, east of Caspian Sea; ff. 45v-46, Parts of Russia and Iran (Scythia, etc.); ff. 47v-48, Indus River; ff. 49v-50, India; ff. 51v-52, Ganges River and Burma; ff. 53v-54, Ceylon (i.e., Taprobana, spelled "Tarrogane " on map and "Trapobanem " on accompanying table). ff. 3-53. [Europe Tabula Prima. Tables pertaining to maps ] Incipit: Prima europe tabula insulas brittanicas ... Explicit: finis Asiae tabularum duodecim. [f. 54v, 2 lines of text:] tunc velut natum permistica santificatum fulgura de sursum depellit omni malignum. Atlas of the world from Western Europe and Africa to Indochina, containing 27 maps and 26 tables. Made in Italy (judging from the humanistic hand, the abbreviations used and the ornamental borders of the tables), probably ca. 1480; it seems to be an early work with the maps showing a large number of place names still in Greek, lacking the various symbols later used for cities, and omitting the maps that were included in later recensions. Known as the "Wilton Codex ". Span folios: ff. 1-54v. Support: Parchment. ff. i (early modern paper) + 54 (27 bifolia with maps on center openings and accompanying tables on preceding reverse sides) + i (early modern paper); 457 × 295 mm. (map size, 375 × 440 mm. on double page openings, with many variations). Bifolia attached sequentially with tabs. Tables in a humanistic hand with modern form arabic numerals. Nomenclature of maps in black or red ink, with area names in gold, blue or red, and scholia in black or purple ink; cursive noting hand and some use of square capitals; no compass directions or rhumb lines; borders of maps formed by the numbered latitude and longitude scales; no distance scales; sea areas covered with purple wash, cities indicated by small gold circles and mountain ranges with wide ocher bands; no decoration except scrollwork at tops of maps and wind-heads on the engraved world map. Maps are mainly trapezoidal in shape, all maps have rectilinear meridians (except for the engraved world map, which is curvilinear), outside borders are bands of gold leaf. Contemporary arabic numbering of the maps at the top center of the page preceding each map, omitting the engraved world map and counting the British Isles map as number 1, which may indicate that the engraved map was added somewhat later. Heawood suggests it may have been an early proof impression on parchment of Berlinghieri's printed volume. Possibly grouped for binding according to the numbers 1 to 16 written, s. XV/XVI on ff. 1, 7, 11, 15, 19, 21, 23, 27, 31, 35, 39, 41, 43, 47, 49, 51 (thus including the engraved world map). Twenty-six tables alternating with maps; the tables are similar in text and format to the Ebner Manuscript in the Lenox Library at the New York Public Library. Published in many versions, the first with maps printed in Rome, 1478. See N. A. E. Nordenskiöld, Facsimile Atlas to the Early History of Cartography (Stockholm 1889) 9-29. Includes one engraved map, from an incunabula: Francesco Berlinghieri, Geographia [Florence: Nicolaus Laurentii, Alamanus, not after 10 Sept. 1482] (Hain 2825; GW 3870). Formerly bound in an early 18th century Pembroke binding of English red morocco, gilt; rebacked. Volume is now disbound and kept in modern case; binding preserved separately. HM 1092. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA.
World maps--Early works to 1800 Atlases (Geographic) Italy 15th century (rbgenr) Portolanos Italy 15th century. (aat) Manuscripts (documents) (aat)
Source
Manuscripts, Huntington Digital Library
Provenance
Purchased ca. 1700 by Thomas Herbert, 8th Earl of Pembroke, for his library at Wilton House, Salisbury. Pembroke sale, Sotheby's, 26 June 1914, lot 166 to Karl Wilhelm Hiersemann (1854-1938) whose press mark "Kh.9 " appears on front flyleaf. Quaritch Handlist, 1923, n. 35. Sold by Hiersemann to Otto Heinrich Friederich Vollbehr.
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