TABULA SUPERIORIS INDIAE ET TARTARIAE MAJOIS: MAP OF CHINA, TARTARY, TIBET, MONG

[Strassburg 1522], Johann Koberger. Single sheet woodcut map sheet size: 55.2 x 40 cm., map size: 16 x 45.5 cm., hand colored, minor dusty surface edges, minor old worm holes restored, now solid and stable copy. * RARE FIRST EDITION * *** *** *** . . A FABULOUS & EARLY FIRST MAP OF EASTERN ASIA . . THE FIRST EDITION OF THE FIRST EUROPEAN PRINTED MAP SHOWING CHINA, MONGOLIA, MANCHURIA, TIBET, JAPAN, CAMBODIA, TONKING, ANNAM, LAOS AND THAT PART OF SOUTHEAST ASIA & THE FAR EAST. * . . AN ITEM OF MAJOR IMPORTANCE IN THE WORLD OF CARTOGRAPHY . . THE FIRST EUROPEAN MAP OF EAST ASIA & JAPAN . A map inspired by Marco Polo, first recorded by Cladius Ptolemy in his stunning and celebrated first GEOGRAPHIA in ca. 150 A.D. The next issue of a similar map was by Fries, FIRST issued his atlas: "GEOGRAPHIA OF PTOLEMY" in 1522, this being map number 45 of that great and major work. **** KEY POINTS OF THE FIRST EDITION 1522: This is the FIRST recorded map to show China, Tibet, Japan, as well as Tonking, Annam, Laos and Cambodia. * The First Edition contains the text & illustrations on its four sheets: [NOTE:the text is lacking on all later editions & only found on the FIRST EDITION]. This is the "point." . Page 1. The front cover has the title: "TA SVPERIORIS INDIAE ET TARTARIAE MAIORIS" with the clover leaf, and with a pair of very elaborate columns at the left, and a border at the right with wording: "IHS MA IHS MA." The title page text continues: "Marcvs Polo venetus asserit, q inter onmnes imperatores et re/ges ta [m] sarracenoru[m]..." Clearly acknowledging Marco Polo's great contribution to this map and knowledge of the region. [See Map Forum below]. . Pages 2 & 3. The center two pages show the map. Above the map is the elaborate title banner with wording: " S TABVLA I." . Page 4. This has text with two chapter titles: Large printers device ahead of text a. DEPROVIDENTIA REGIS MAGNICHAN b. DEVIRGINIBVS NON VALENTIBVSNVBERE Followed by another printers device. . Later editions of this map may lack the title page text, banner above the map, and the last page of text and printers devices. The later editions were 1525, 1535 and 1541. Only the true FIRST EDITION has the complete text and printers devices. **** THE TITLE: The title refers to this being a map of "Upper India [Superioris Indiae] & Tartary [Tartariae Majoris is Greater Mongolia, which includes Inner & Outer Mongolia of today]. * This is also an important "FIRST" map of Asia and Southeast Asia printed by a European. This work shows China, "Zipangri" [Japan], Tibet and Southeast Asia. It also shows "Tebet" Tartary, China, Prov. Bocat [Cambodia]. The map was drawn from primary information from Marco Polo and includes Tibet, Cianba, Bangal [Bengal], Mangi [Manchu], Tangut and Cathai [Cathay] shown in the present-day Manchuria location. * CHINA: Is the shown in the central and upper part of the map. Mongolia, Gobi Desert, the Pamirs mountains, and central China, Tibet and other provinces shown. * JAPAN: An oval-shaped Japan taken from the earlier outlines of the Contarini and Waldseemüller map is located due East of China and Southeast Asia, with Latin text stating that the Japanese are idol worshipers, independent minded and do not pay tribute to the Chinese Emperor. Japan is a large island called Zipangri, a name derived from the Chinese 'Land of the Rising Sun,' which Polo learned about from the Chinese. * A MOST FASCINATING VIGNETTE OF THE GREAT KUBLAI KHAN: An unusual vignette is located just East of "Provicia Cathai" and shows the Great Kublai Khan [1215-1294] seated in his Yurt [others wrongly call it a "tent"] he holds two swords. In his background are a large number of other Yurts presumably containing "Golden Hordes" [Tartar-Mongols]. It was recorded that Marco Polo [1254-1324] met Kublai Khan in 1269. This is a charming feature of this map. * THE TEXT: The texts throughout are in Latin. * PRINTING & HAND-COLOR TECHNIQUE: The map's black outline was finely printed by woodblocks, [also called "key blocks'] then original hand-colored gouache, with great skill. [The color is NOT something recently added to inhance the map !] * HISTORIC DERIVATION AND ORIGIN OF THE MAP: This famous and most historic Fries map was the results of influence by two famous cartographers: Caldius Ptolemy's "GEOGRAPHIA" [ca. 150 A.D.] and Martin Waldseemuller's "WORLD ATLAS" [1513]. . Although this Fries map was based on the these two atlases and maps, its first appearance as a separate work of this region was in the Fries 1522 edition of PTOLEMY'S GEOGRAPHIA. There is no direct similarity to Waldseemuller's 1513 edition, as Fries issued his map with additional and new information gleaned from the Portuguese on the coasts of China, Japan and Southeast Asia. Together with this new information and some older information from Waldseemüller, Fries could produce the "new" map of Eastern Asia. The Portuguese had been the leading sailing nation in Asia and from 1549 had already established a small foot-hold on Hirado Island, in Southern Japan, therefore the Japan map information was fairly reliable, although the location on the map is far South from the actual and correct location. This is also the first map to even cite Japan and its location. **** WHO WAS THE CARTOGRAPHER/AUTHOR LAURENT FRIES: Laurent Fries [ca.1490-ca.1532], was a French physician, astrologer, geographer and mathematician born around 1485 [?] in Mulhouse. He settled finally in Strassburg where he met Peter Apian [1495-1552] [Tooley p.18] and the publisher Johannes Grüninger [1480-1528] [Tooley p.268] where he became interested in the Ptolemy Atlases of 1513 and 1520. Fries made his own new woodcut maps in smaller format, and his "PTOLEMY ATLAS" was first published in 1522 [the date of our map example], reissued in 1525, 1535 and 1541. He died in 1532. * ALTERNATE SPELLINGS FOR FRIES: Fries has used several different romanizations or Latinizations of his name: Freiss, Frisius, Phrisius, Phryes, Phrijsen; Lorenz: Laurentius, per Tooley, p.227. *** CLAUDIUS PTOLEMY: Was a Greek, a Roman citizen of Alexandria, Egypt who wrote in Greek and who flourished ca. 150 A.D. He was a mathematician, poet, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and scientist. He compiled a stunning world atlas: "GEOGRAPHIA" of the world, divided Asia into consisting of twelve parts, Sinae [China] was in the 11th part. Although authentic maps of Ptolemy have never been found, the "Geographia" contains thousands of references to various parts of the old world, with coordinates for most, which seem to have influenced early Islamic maps, and allowed European cartographers to reconstruct Ptolemy's world view when an ancient Greek manuscript was translated into Latin around 1300. Extracted from Wikipedia. * MARTIN WALDSEEMULLER: Was a geographer at St. Die in Lorraine, he was influenced by Ptolemy's "GEOGRAPHIA" [ca. 150 A.D.], an ancient world atlas, from which he created his 'WORLD ATLAS." Waldseemüller was the cartographer who created and used the name "America" on the newly discovered continent, which was first published as the "NEW WORLD." He also authored other famous works: "COSMOGRAPHIAE INTRODUCTIO 1507"; "GLOBE" 1507; "EUROPE" 1511; "MAPS TO" 1513 edition of Ptolemy, "CARTA MARINA" 1516. [see Tooley p.649]. ******* . CONDITION: This map is an excellent copy. It was printed on a folio sized single sheet of paper. It has some very minor tiny ancient worm holes the majority of which have been restored on the verso, where the text was not printed. Other small old worm holes were apparently left "as is" to avoid any impacted on the reading of the text characters. The map is very solid and stable, and otherwise in lovely condition. * The margins are original and wide as issued, with a bit of toning on the edges, and some small and very minor tears, all of which have been professionally restored with Japanese Washi [hand-made acid-free paper and rice glue] to reinforce and close the tears thus stabilizing the whole work. There TWO old restorations to the bottom margins using what appears to be two piece of period rag paper, but this is not obvious. There is some stain to the top edges and three other edges but to a much lesser degree. We tend to be over critical when it comes to grading condition. By and large this is a very nice map with bright paper and the usual small imperfections that naturally come with an item 490 years old. * The woodblock impression is strong, clear, solid and vivid, as is the text block on the verso and all black outline. The work was nicely hand-colored in the distant past, and appears to be "original" and is nicely oxidized and in lovely natural vegetal pastel tones of green and brown, as is the outline of the map border in matching brown. **** . COMMON ERRORS BY OTHER BIBLIOGRAHERS AND CATALOGERS: This map has commonly been cataloged without author or wrongly attributed to "C. PTOLEMY," most often without title, or referring to title as: "No title" or "Untitled map of China, Japan..." This lack of bibliographical information is probably due to fact that editions other than the First Edition lack the title text on the recto of the first leaf, thereby giving catalogers too little information to proceed correctly. Those not knowing or havign seen the First Edition would have no way to know this unless they had access to an image showing all sides of the map. *** MARCO POLO: This map was created by referring to the historical remains of Marco Polo's writings. He is acknowledged in the first, [title] page of this map. Also the names Marcoi Polo used for various geographical locations are still utilized in this map. Polo's writings were clearly and believed to be the authentic place names therefore Fries and other continued this usage and recorded them in the creation of this map. Such place names as Zipangri, Cathai, Mangi/Manzi in the Southern area of China were names Polo recorded in his historic writings. * * * * * . BIBLIOGRAPHY: ODA, Takeo. et al. THE WORLD IN JAPANESE MAPS UNTIL THE MID-19TH CENTURY: illustrates the 1541 later version in color on p.255 as map number 122; and also in the yellow wrs. text volume, pl.81,item 122 in Japanese. Oda also names this map properly with "TABULA SUPERIORIS INDIAE ET TARTARIAE MAJORIS", as found in the 1541 "PTOLEMAEI GEORAPHICAE" and states this was a woodblock print 40.5 x 58.8 cm. * PTOLEMY, Claudius. THE GEOGRAPHY. Translated and edited by Edward Luther Stevenson, N.Y. 1932, NYPL, Dover 1991. * TOOLEY, R.V. comp. TOOLEY'S DICTIONARY OF MAPMAKERS: p.227 et al.: Fries, Ptolemy, Waldseemüller. * Karrow, Mapmakers of the Sixteenth Century, 28/46 * SUAREZ, Thomas. EARLY MAPPING OF SOUTHEAST ASIA: pp.118-119, p.118, #63: illustrates the 1522 First Edition. See also many entries, illustrations for Fries, Ptolemy & Waldseemüller. * Waldseemüller: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_world_maps#Waldseem.C 3.BCller_and_Ringmann_map_.281507.29 * Ptolemy:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ptolemy * See MAPFORUM for details of this map, which is example 45, on p.8 of 25. http://www.mapforum.com/08/8fries2.htm Marco Polo is also cited as the source of this map information on the front page. This work outlines the four editions of Fries' "GEOGRAPHIA OF PTOLEMY" * WALTER, Lutz. ed. MAPFORUM ISSUE 8; "Japan, A Cartographic Vision" No.3. This refers to a 1541 similar map, Japan is a large island called Zipangri, a name derived from the Chinese 'Land of the Rising Sun', which Polo learned about from the Chinese. * Baynton-Williams, Ashley: LORENZ FRIES: 3 page essay. Excellent biography of Fries, and outline of his collaboration with Gruninger on the new edition of the "GEOGRAPHIA: which was published by Johann Koberger in 1522, which is the exact now offer. * EXCEPTIONALLY RARE FIRST EDITION *** .