Winchester College possesses the printed book below. Watch this short video to learn about the the book. Beneath the video I give a complete description of it, including a relatively complete history, and an introduction to the significance of the text generally and of this specific edition.
The above 16th-century copy of Claudius Ptolemy's Cosmographia was printed in Ulm in 1482, and forms part of the Fellows' Library at Winchester College. It was owned by William Moryn and gifted to the College in 1543. It was the first atlas to be printed North of the Alps, and the first to include geographical information not found in the works of Ptolemy.
The book contains 23 unique double-page maps printed on fine paper from Milan from wooden blocks, rather than the normal copperplate engraving. It was coloured with expensive minerals, such as lapis lazuli from Afghanistan, by hand.
The copy was gifted by William Moryn in 1543. He was a scholar at Winchester in the 1490s and had an unexceptional career in the clergy afterwards. Moryn left a large collection of books to the College, most of which can still be seen today. Unusually for the 16th century, Moryn gifted many scientific books, rather than theological ones. In addition to the one above, he gave a copy of the first printed edition of Ptolemy's Cosmographia (Vicenza, 1477).
Ptolemy's Cosmographia, one of the most important surviving ancient texts, was written in Greek in the 2nd century. If there were any maps attached to the text, they have been lost. However, Ptolemy had devised a complicated system of coordinates that survived. In the Renaissance, with the recent advancements in cartography, the text and coordinates was transformed into maps, like the 23 in this copy.
This edition of Ptolemy's Cosmographia was printed by Lienhard Holle in 1482 in Ulm. Ptolemy's text has been translated into Latin. The book is extremely rare and valuable - around three-hundred copies were printed, showing its rarity, and more than one-hundred copies survive today, unusually high for a 15th-century book, showing its value. It's material wealth comes from the printing process - with its fine paper and rare minerals - and its rarity.
Exhibition - An Age of Exploration 1400-1600: godtres.wixsite.com/cornucopia/post/exhibition-an-age-of-exploration-1400-1600
Winchester College – Collections: winchestercollections.co.uk/collection/claudius-ptolemy-cosmographia-ulm-1482
Inside the Fellows' Library – Exploring the Rare Books of Winchester College: youtube.com/watch?v=u1R4zI4jrxE&t=389s
'50 Treasures of Winchester College': treasury.winchestercollege.org/new-design/pages/forms/50-treasures-of-winchester-college-order-form-
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