Lacus Constantiensis XX. Tab. Nova

Very early and large woodcut map of the Lake Constance (Bodensee) by Sebastian Münster. First published in 1540, this example comes from Münster's Geographia printed 1542 by Heinrich Petri in Basel. Latin text and a woodcut initial on verso.

Very good condition.

Sebastian Münster was born 1489 in Ingelheim (Pfalz). First being a Franciscan, he became Professor for Theology, Hebrew and Mathematics after he converted to Protestantism in 1529. He became one of the most influencing geographers of the sixteenth century. His Cosmographia, published in 1544, spread geographical knowledge wide over Europe. It was issued in nearly 40 editions and 6 languages. Münster was the first cartographer publishing each known continent on a separate map. His second important work was the Geographia, a new edition of Ptolemys Geographia. He died May 1552 in Basel on Black Death.