The Sunderland Collection

Ruysch’s atlas is one of many works printed by Bernadino de Vitalibus who describes himself in the preface as a Venetian. He is known to have printed over 150 works between 1493 and 1539. This edition includes six of the fourteen sheets of the ‘Orbis Nova Descriptio’ by Beneventanus, usually found in the 1508 edition only. Indeed, the paper's watermark is normally associated with books published in Venice in 1508, which suggests the present work was assembled towards the end of the lifespan of the 1507 edition. The third state is identifiable by the labels of 'Sinus Gageticus' and 'Sinus Magnus' on the right-hand plate and 'La Dominica' correctly labelled on the left hand plate, and the word ‘Oceanus’ around the circumference of the map.

Colophon: Explicat Planisphaerium Ptholemai recognitum diligentissime a Marco Beneventano Monacho Caelestinorum quod antea in multis etia antiquis exemplaribus latinus corruptissimum reperiebantur. Nec nõ Claudii Ptholemai a plurimis uiris utriusqß linguae doctiss. emendatu cum multis additionibus Rome Novitur impressum per Bernadinu Venetu de Vitalibus. Expensis Evagelista Tossino Brixiano Bibliopola. Impante Iulio II. Pont. Max Anno. III. Potificatus sui Die VIII.

Ruysch’s world map referred mostly to Portuguese sources - in particular the Contarini-Rosselli map of 1506. He draws most of the North American coastline based on Contarini, using a similar folding conical projection. South America appears as a large distinct continent, called 'Terra Sancte Crucis sive Mondus Novus', with an inscription that notes Ruysch’s lack of knowledge on the newly found continent. North of South America appears 'Spagnola' (Hispaniola), the site of Christopher Columbus’s landing. This is different from the Contarini-Rosselli map, which indicates the site as 'Sipangu' (Japan). Another inscription of 'Baccalauras', meaning codfish, also shows Portuguese influence: Portuguese fisherman caught vast quantities of cod in the area at the time.

To the west of Hispaniola there is a peninsula, probably Cuba, which bears a text scroll explaining that this was the limit of the Spanish explorations. Although the Contarini-Rosselli map showed Cuba as an island, Ruysch appears to have accepted Christopher Columbus’ theory that it was an Asian peninsula. Greenland, Labrador, Newfoundland, and Nova Scotia are all shown as part of the Asian land mass. Even if Ruysch did not explore these newly 'discovered' lands himself, it seems that he was in communication with those who had, as there is a note next to Greenland explaining that compasses do not work in that area, suggesting that he had information from mariners who had observed magnetic variation there. 

Ruysch's depiction of Madagascar, India, and Sri Lanka in their correct proportions must be taken from Portuguese sources, as evidenced by the nearby note about Portuguese activities in the area in 1507. His depiction of the Arctic region, with multiple mountains circling the North Pole, was original and influenced the work of 

.

The atlas was published in September of 1507. 

Exquisitely engraved, this 1507 edition of Claudius Ptolemy's 'Geographia' was created by Johannes Ruysch, a friend of Raphael and court painter to Pope Julius II. This atlas featured twenty-seven Ptolemaic maps and seven additional ‘modern’ maps edited by the Celestine monk Marcus Beneventanus. One of these 'modern' maps includes the fan-shaped world map, which is very rare and celebrated as one of the earliest printed European maps to include the Americas. At the North Pole, Ruysch depicts four islands surrounding a mountainous island of iron that were believed to exist and have magnetic properties - an idea later copied and disseminated by Gerard Mercator.

Ruysch was both an artist and a scientist who worked for prominent European courts. He created his world map for Pope Julius II and appears on Papal payrolls in 1508 and 1509. His fan-shaped world map was completed in 1507 for an edition of Ptolemy's 'Geographia', which also features twenty-six Ptolemaic maps of different territories around the world and a Ptolemaic conical projection world map, and an additional six ‘modern’ maps which are not present in other editions of translations of Ptolemy’s ‘Geographia’ made between 1478 and 1490 These maps cover France, Italy, the Mediterranean, Poland, Scandinavia, and Spain.

The modern maps in Ruysch’s atlas were edited by Marcus Beneventanus (1465–1524), a Celestine monk. In the introduction to the 1508 Rome edition of Ptolemy's 'Geographia', Beneventanus states that Ruysch claimed to have sailed from England to the North Pole and then through to Asia. He may have been a member of John Cabot’s expedition from Bristol trying to reach China. Ruysch’s membership of the expedition has been debated, as his world map does not show much new information.

World map on a conic fan projection

Map projection diagram with windheads

Ptolemaic world map

Ptolemaic map of Great Britain

Ptolemaic map of Spain

Ptolemaic map of France (Gaul)

Ptolemaic map of Germany

Ptolemaic map of Slovenia and part of Italy

Ptolemaic of Italy

Ptolemaic map of Sardinia and Sicily

Ptolemaic of northeastern Europe including Poland, the Baltics, Russia, and Ukraine

Ptolemaic map of the Balkans including Romania, Bulgaria, and Macedonia

Ptolemaic map of Greece including Macedonia, Crete, and Cyprus

Ptolemaic map of northwest Africa and the Balearic Islands, and the western Mediterranean

Ptolemaic map of northern Africa including Libya, Tunisia, and the Mediterranean

Ptolemaic map of Egypt

Ptolemaic map of central Africa including Ethiopia, Libya, and Egypt

Ptolemaic map of Turkey and Cyprus 

Ptolemaic map of Samaria (the Black Sea region)

Ptolemaic map of the Caspian Sea including Armenia, Turkey, and Georgia 

Ptolemaic map of Palestine, Syria, and Cyprus

Ptolemaic map of modern Iran 

Ptolemaic map of modern Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Oman

Ptolemaic map of modern Russia, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan 

Ptolemaic map of modern China and Mongolia 

Ptolemaic map of modern Pakistan and Afghanistan 

Ptolemaic map of modern India 

Ptolemaic map of Southeast Asia

Ptolemaic map of Taprobana (modern Sri Lanka) 

Modern map of the Mediterranean

Modern map of Scandinavia

Modern map of France

Modern map of Italy 

Modern map of Poland 

Modern map of Spain

This edition of Johannes Ruysch’s version of Ptolemy’s 'Geographia' includes an important and rare fan-shaped world map of his own design, which is also one of the earliest printed maps to feature the Americas.

This Work Contains the Geography of Claudius Ptolemy



In Hoc Operae haec Continétur Geographia Cl. Ptholemaei

Ruysch's 'Geographia'