1598 Sebastian Munster Antique Map View of Freiberg, Saxony Southern Germany

Cartographer : Sebastian Munster

Description: 
This large finely engraved original antique print a view of the German City of Freiberg, Saxony was published by Sebastian Munster in the 1598 edition of Cosmographia.

Freiberg (German for "free for mining activities") is a university and mining town in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is a so-called Große Kreisstadt (large county town) and the administrative centre of Mittelsachsendistrict.

Background:
For a variety of reasons town plans were comparatively latecomers in the long history of cartography. Few cities in Europe in the middle ages had more than 20,00 inhabitants and even London in the late Elizabethan period had only 100-150,000 people which in itself was probably 10 times that of any other English city. The Nuremberg Chronicle in 1493 included one of the first town views of Jerusalem, thereafter, for most of the sixteenth century, German cartographers led the way in producing town plans in a modern sense. In 1544 Sebastian Munster issued in Basle his Cosmographia containing roughly sixty-six plans and views, some in the plan form, but many in the old panorama or birds eye view.

General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: - 
Colors used: - 
General color appearance: - 
Paper size: - 15in x 13in (380mm x 330mm)
Plate size: - 15in x 13in (380mm x 330mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - Light age toning along centerfold
Verso: - Light age toning along centerfold

$105.00