[ISHMap-List] Help Needed: Concerning a 16th Century Map--Reposting

Douglas Sims dougsims1945 at yahoo.com
Thu Feb 13 23:02:46 CET 2014


Dear ISHMappers,

My apologies to any who may have received this posting twice.  But it did not come through on my system, so I presume it must have somehow got lost in the "cyber-cloud" for some others as well.

I am finishing a cartobibliography of the maps of Giacomo Gastaldi, including all derivatives which have appeared in the literature.  This cartobibliography will serve as an adjunct to my work on Gastaldi, 'Giacomo Gastaldi and the Four Continents', to be published by EXPLOKART at the university of Amsterdam.

For some of the derivatives, there occur subderivatives, sometimes whole series of subderivatives.  I have encountered a small problem with one map from such a series of subderivatives, and I am hoping that someone, a librarian, a collector, a dealer, whoever, might be able to settle the issue for me.

In 1546, Gastaldi produced his one-sheet world map 'Vniversale', and several lines of derivatives stem from it.  The largest of these lines of derivatives is a two-sheet enlargement of the map, with various small changes and additions, titled VNIVERSALE DESCRITTIONE DI TVTTA LA TERRA CONOSCIUTA FIN QUI'.  It was first engraved by Paolo Forlani ca. 1565 (and not 1562), and published by Ferando Bertelli.  There were many subderivatives of this map, all basically the same in title and other essentials, up to 1599.  The greatest number of subderivatives of this map given in a single source so far is nine, given by Shirley.  I have found 16.  One of these 16 is is a 1570 edition engraved by Forlani, but published by Claudio Duchetti from a plate which found its way from Venice to Rome, a common occurrence..  It is cited in many places, as Shirley, no. 121, and reproduced by him in plate 7 (at pp. XXVI-XXVII).  Wagner (Henry Raup Wagner, 'Cartography of the
 Northwest Coast,' etc., Berkeley, 1937, vol. II, p. 284, no. 89) cites a 1572 printing of the same.  But I have reservations as to the existence of this 1572 subderivative.  Wagner gives neither a literature reference to it, nor the location of a copy; nor have I been able to find mention of such in any other source.

If anyone could provide me with evidence of the existence of this state more convincing than Wagner's overly brief entry, I would be most grateful.


Doug Sims

Douglas W Sims
3516A Bayview Avenue, apt. F
Brooklyn, New York 11224
U.S.A.

1-718-891-6684
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