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Description

Rare Lafreri School map, centered on the Adriatic Sea and extending west to include part of the Northeast Coast of America and east to the Caspian Sea and the Straits of Hormuz in the east, including very early detail along the coast of Canada.

The map includes an early configuration of the British Isles. Iceland is completely omitted. The shape of Scandinavia is very primitive. The Atlantic is filled with islands, some of which are mythical.

The treatment of the northeastern part of Canada is also of note. Terra De Bacalos (Land of Codfish) is noted, along with a number of other early place names. The name Mare Della Nova Franza, also appears. These names suggest that the cartographic source of this map is either Forlani's 1565 map of North America ( Il Disegno del discoperto della nova Franza) or Camocio's untitled wall map which Burden originally dates as c1569 (Burden 37), but which Woodward and Burden now believe was published circa 1575 (See Burden II, #44a). Regardless of the source, this is among the earliest maps to incorporate Forlani's revised treatment of the region.

The map originally appeared in 1570, at which time it included a dedications to Francesco Scaridino. The map was engraved by Oratio Bertelli for Domenico Zenoi. The map is of sufficient rarity that it did not appear in the first edition Burden's Mapping of America., and was not identified until it was included in the supplemental section in Part II of Burden.

In the first edition, there are a series of Rhumb Lines which radiate from the Adriatic outward. In this later edition of 1575, much of the rhumb lines have been removed, although the remnants can be seen in the upper right part of the map.

The map is often attributed to Giovanni Francesco Camocio because of its inclusion in the Isole Famose Porti, Fortezze e Terre Maritime . . . , a book of maps and prints of the Dalmatian Coast and Aegean sea, which normally lacks the title page and when present, there is no publisher given. As noted by Burden, because a number of the maps are signed by Camocio, he is often credited with the publication of this map, despite the Zenoi credit in the dedication cartouche in the first state of the map.

There are 3 editions of the map. In the second, the dedication is removed. In the third edition, the plate number 3 is added at the top left corner.

Condition Description
Minor dampstaining at left corner.
Reference
Burden 41a.