Save

The Watermarks in the Rome Editions of Ptolemy’s Cosmography and More

In: Quaerendo
Authors:
R.H.J. Peerlings Middelburg Netherlands

Search for other papers by R.H.J. Peerlings in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
,
F. Laurentius Middelburg Netherlands

Search for other papers by F. Laurentius in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
, and
J. van den Bovenkamp Middelburg Netherlands

Search for other papers by J. van den Bovenkamp in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
Online Publication Date:
14 Dec 2017
Full Access

Abstract

The authors conducted a study to describe the watermarks appearing in the text and map pages of the early Rome editions of Ptolemy’s Cosmography in order to date individual maps. They visited several institutions and libraries in Europe in person to study the atlases. Information and photographs concerning their atlases from institutions and libraries in the United States were collected by email correspondence. Information on some atlases was found directly on the internet. The conclusion is that each edition is characterized by its own specific watermarks. Photographs of all the watermarks found in each edition are displayed in this article.

Keywords: watermarks; Ptolemy; Cosmography; Rome; 1478; 1490; 1507/8

Introduction

Claudius Ptolemy was a mathematician, geographer, astronomer and astrologer who probably lived and worked in Alexandria or in its vicinity from about ad 100 until about 170.1 He wrote two important books, the Almagest, a manual on astronomy, and the Geography, a summary of knowledge on geography and map-making written around 150. Both belong to the most important scientific books of ancient literature. The Geography is an instruction for drawing a cartographic representation of the entire known surface of the earth.2

Following the fall of the Roman Empire, Ptolemy’s texts were lost to western geographers. However, the original text was translated into Arabic for distribution among Islamic scholars and thereby preserved. The earliest extant manuscript version of the Geography is in Arabic and probably dates from the twelfth century. Subsequently, the text was translated into Greek and circulated through the Greek world. In 1300 it appeared again in Byzantium in several manuscript versions on parchment, including coloured maps. Around 1400, a Greek manuscript came into the hands of the Byzantine scholar Emanuel Chrysoloras, who was working in Italy.3 He undertook a translation of the text into Latin. This was subsequently completed by his pupil Jacopo Angelo da Scarperia in 1406 and became widely known under the title Cosmography.

A most influential set of maps was created by Donnus Nicolaus Germanus, a German cartographer who was active in Italy from about 1460 to 1480. An excellent copy of his manuscript on parchment is present in the Manuscripts and Archives Division of the New York Public Library.4 His work formed the basis for the sets of Ptolemaic maps printed in the fifteenth century.

The first printed Cosmography, including maps, was published in 1477 in Bologna.5 The first Rome edition was issued by Arnold Buckinck on 10 October 1478. Later editions were reissued on 4 November 1490 by Petrus de Turre and 8 September 1507 by Bernardinus Venetus de Vitalibus and again in 1508 using the original plates with the addition of the Ruijsch world map and six modern maps.6

The letters of the four Rome editions were not engraved with a burin, but punched into the copper plate using metal stamps or dies. This allowed much greater uniformity than engravers were able to achieve and gives a very pleasing overall effect.7 The mountains are engraved in a way that a three-dimensional image is suggested. Another unusual aspect is that the maps were printed on two separate sheets, which later were joined.8 The atlas originally contains 27 maps: the world map, ten maps of Europe, four maps of Africa and twelve maps of Asia. By 1952, 39 remaining copies of the 1478 edition were known.9

The 1478 Cosmography is an important work of early book printing, of early printed cartography and of early copper engraving.10 The story of this edition starts with Conrad Sweynheym, who is thought to have been present at the birth of printing as an apprentice of Johannes Gutenberg. After the raid of Mainz in 1462, Sweynheym fled south to Italy and arrived at the Benedictine monastery of Subiaco. Either in 1464 or 1465 he introduced the first printing press to Italy along with another German émigré, Arnold Pannartz. In 1473 or 1474 they started the creation of the first printed illustrated edition of Ptolemy’s Cosmography. The death of Pannartz in the plague of 1476 slowed down the project. Sweynheym died in 1477, after which Buckinck from Cologne took up the project and completed it in 1478. The text was edited by Domitius Calderinus of Verona.11 Skelton estimates that the Rome 1478 edition contained about 500 copies.

The Portuguese discovery of the passage to the Indian Ocean by Bartholomew Dias in 1488 led to a growing interest in atlases. Petrus de Turre saw a commercial opportunity and bought the copper plates used by Arnold Buckinck. In 1490 the plates were still in excellent condition, having the original sharpness and quality.12 To Buckinck’s text of the Cosmography were added the index of places (registrum alphabeticum) and the tract ‘De locis et mirabilibus mundi’ from the Cosmography by Johan Reger (Ulm 1486), respectively preceding and following Ptolemy’s text.13

In the 1507 edition, the Planispherium and six Tabulae Modernae were added. Furthermore there are some textual changes and additions. The Ruijsch world map has been found in some copies of the edition of 1507, but it is not listed among the maps on the title-page. According to Nordenskiöld it does not belong in this edition.14

The 1508 edition is identical to the 1507 edition, with the addition of a new title-page, a few verses to the dedication, an extensive supplementary Nova Orbis Descriptio and the modern world map by Johan Ruijsch, on which the Spanish and Portuguese discoveries are registered for the first time in the literature of cartography. It is the earliest obtainable map with a depiction of America.15

It is difficult to differentiate individual maps, because the original 27 maps in each of the four editions are printed from the same copper plates. The claims made on websites of antiquarian book dealers and in books concerning the edition of individual maps give mixed information and suggestions. Mostly individual maps seem to belong to the 1478 edition. This is strange with four editions, the 1478 being the rarest of them. The website of B.L. Ruderman tells us ‘there is some debate as to whether or not the watermarks are in fact completely reliable in determining the editions’.16 Martayan Lan shows a world map in catalogue 45 and writes ‘not only is the example offered here a true 1478 edition, as validated by the crossbow in a circle watermark on the paper’.17 Antiqua Global Art shows a cardinal’s hat as a watermark on its website and claims it to be a watermark belonging to the 1478 edition.18 In his book Mapping Greece 1420-1800, George Tolias shows a map of a Rome edition, Decima Et Ultima Europe Tabula which is coloured by hand and heightened with gold.19 In the index of the book is written that this map bears an arcabaleno watermark which has been associated with the 1507/8 edition. The Karpeles Manuscript Library suggests ‘the 1478 world map plates were possibly all printed in quantity and used again in the 1490 atlas and yet again in the 1507 atlas without being re-printed’.20 All these remarks are contradictory.

So the following question presents itself: is it in fact possible to differentiate individual maps of the different editions?

Marcel Destombes describes the watermarks crossbow and lion for the 1478 edition, and the watermarks hat, ladder, the French lily and a T in a circle for the 1490 edition.21 He gives no information whether the watermarks are present in the text pages or in the map pages, or perhaps in both. He further states that the only way to distinguish the 1478 and 1490 editions is to study their watermarks. His book is limited to incunable maps. It therefore contains no information about the watermarks in the 1507/8 edition.

Apart from the added maps in 1507 and 1508, the maps in the different editions are all printed from exactly the same copperplates. The verso of each map is blank. Thus the only remaining research possibility lies in the medium the maps are printed on, the paper and the watermarks in the paper, as Destombes already described.

The first aim of this study was to describe the watermarks in the early Rome editions of Ptolemy’s Cosmography. The second aim was to describe general findings while studying the atlases.

Findings

Table one gives an overview of the atlases studied. A total of eleven 1478 atlases, fifteen 1490 atlases, five 1507 atlases and four 1508 atlases were examined directly.22 The atlases studied in person were partly or completely photographed, or inspected visually. For several reasons it was not always possible, or allowed, to photograph each and every page or watermark. Institutions and libraries in the usa were requested to send photographs of atlases and watermarks in their collection. Upon these requests sometimes many images were received, sometimes only a few. In the atlases found on the internet, watermarks could sometimes be found and recognized because of the high resolution images and the information already obtained.23 The information per atlas is sometimes incomplete. In some atlases the maps were lined with or mounted on paper. Therefore watermarks could not, or only with great difficulty, be distinguished. Now and then maps of another edition or publisher were bound in an atlas. All atlases together give a good and more or less complete impression of each edition. An image is presented of each type of watermark and each variation found. It was not always allowed to trace or measure the watermarks, but when available, the height of each watermark is given in millimeters between parentheses in the captions of the figures. The images from institutions in the usa were received without measurements. For each watermark The Bernstein Memory of Paper website, the ‘Wasserzeichen-Informationssystem’ website, Briquet and Piccard are consulted and mentioned if applicable.

table 1

Atlases studied
table 1
table 1
table 1
p means photograph, i means internet, ip means in person

We would like to thank all the institutions and libraries mentioned in Table 1 for the admission granted, or the photographs and information provided, concerning the atlases in their collection.

The 1478 Edition

Maps and Text

The crossbow in a circle type 1 was found in the text as well as in the map pages, in five variations (Fig. 1-5).24 The 1478 edition is the only one with an identical watermark in text and map pages.

figure 1
figure 1
Göttingen Auct. gr. V 4142 Inc. (53).

Citation: Quaerendo 47, 3-4 (2017) ; 10.1163/15700690-12341392

figure 2
figure 2
© The British Library Board, G.8174.

Citation: Quaerendo 47, 3-4 (2017) ; 10.1163/15700690-12341392

figure 3
figure 3
Göttingen Auct. gr. V 4142 Inc. (51).

Citation: Quaerendo 47, 3-4 (2017) ; 10.1163/15700690-12341392

figure 4
figure 4
Göttingen Auct. gr. V 4142 Inc. (51).

Citation: Quaerendo 47, 3-4 (2017) ; 10.1163/15700690-12341392

figure 5
figure 5
© The British Library Board, C.3.d.6 (53).

Citation: Quaerendo 47, 3-4 (2017) ; 10.1163/15700690-12341392

Text

The winged lion holding a book, symbol for the evangelist Marcus (Fig. 6-7) was only present in the text pages in two variations.25

figure 6
figure 6
© The British Library Board, C.3.d.6.

Citation: Quaerendo 47, 3-4 (2017) ; 10.1163/15700690-12341392

figure 7
figure 7
Göttingen Auct. gr. V 4142 Inc.

Citation: Quaerendo 47, 3-4 (2017) ; 10.1163/15700690-12341392

The 1490 Edition

Maps

The cardinal’s hat (Fig. 8-11) appears in four variations. It corresponds with a watermark of a cardinal’s hat found in the same period according to Briquet.26 Two of them (Fig. 8-9) are most commonly found. The other two variations were present only in the atlases in Michigani (Fig. 10-11) and Bloomingtonii (Fig. 11).27

figure 8
figure 8
From the collection Het Scheepvaart-museum Me-0423 (56).

Citation: Quaerendo 47, 3-4 (2017) ; 10.1163/15700690-12341392

figure 9
figure 9
Göttingen Auct. gr. V 4149 Inc. (55).

Citation: Quaerendo 47, 3-4 (2017) ; 10.1163/15700690-12341392

figure 10
figure 10
William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan Atl 1490 Pt.

Citation: Quaerendo 47, 3-4 (2017) ; 10.1163/15700690-12341392

figure 11
figure 11
William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan Atl 1490 Pt.

Citation: Quaerendo 47, 3-4 (2017) ; 10.1163/15700690-12341392

The other watermark commonly found is a French lily in four variations (Fig. 12-15). This type of French lily is dated by Gerhard Piccard around 1490.28 The atlases in Londoniii, Amsterdamiv and Florencev contained a combination of maps with the cardinals hat and French lily but not together in one map.

figure 12
figure 12
Special Collections, University of Amsterdam, otm: Inc. 449.

Citation: Quaerendo 47, 3-4 (2017) ; 10.1163/15700690-12341392

figure 13
figure 13
Special Collections, University of Amsterdam, otm: Inc. 449.

Citation: Quaerendo 47, 3-4 (2017) ; 10.1163/15700690-12341392

figure 14
figure 14
Special Collections, University of Amsterdam, otm: Inc. 449.

Citation: Quaerendo 47, 3-4 (2017) ; 10.1163/15700690-12341392

figure 15
figure 15
© The British Library Board, IC.19313 (53).

Citation: Quaerendo 47, 3-4 (2017) ; 10.1163/15700690-12341392

A crown in a circle in two variations (Fig. 16-17) was found in the maps Quarta and Quinta Europe Tabula, of the atlases in Milwaukeevi and Amsterdamvii. This watermark also appears in the map Nona Asiae Tabula of an atlas in Washingtonviii.29 This is a 1478 edition, but not in the original condition, according to the information provided on their website. It contains the abovementioned 1478 crossbow in a circle type 1, but also the cardinal’s hat and the crown in a circle, which are typical for a 1490 edition. The atlas, thus being a composite, is only mentioned here because of the presence of the crown in a circle for the third time.30

figure 16
figure 16
From the collection Het Scheepvaartmuseum Me-0423 (53).

Citation: Quaerendo 47, 3-4 (2017) ; 10.1163/15700690-12341392

figure 17
figure 17
From the American Geographical Society Library University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries ags Rare Locked G87.P85X1490.

Citation: Quaerendo 47, 3-4 (2017) ; 10.1163/15700690-12341392

The flower (Fig. 18) was only found once in the map Duodecima Et Ultima Asiae Tabula in Londoniii.

figure 18
figure 18
© The British Library Board, ic.19313.

Citation: Quaerendo 47, 3-4 (2017) ; 10.1163/15700690-12341392

Text

The tau cross in a circle with a cross on top in four variations was found most often (Fig. 19-22).31

figure 19
figure 19
Göttingen Auct. gr. V 4149 Inc. (72).

Citation: Quaerendo 47, 3-4 (2017) ; 10.1163/15700690-12341392

figure 20
figure 20
Formerly Stevens collection (72).

Citation: Quaerendo 47, 3-4 (2017) ; 10.1163/15700690-12341392

figure 21
figure 21
Formerly Stevens collection (83).

Citation: Quaerendo 47, 3-4 (2017) ; 10.1163/15700690-12341392

figure 22
figure 22
Formerly Stevens collection (82).

Citation: Quaerendo 47, 3-4 (2017) ; 10.1163/15700690-12341392

The ladder in a circle with a star on top was regularly found in two variations (Fig. 23-24).32

figure 23
figure 23
© The British Library Board, ic.19313 (73).

Citation: Quaerendo 47, 3-4 (2017) ; 10.1163/15700690-12341392

figure 24
figure 24
From the collection Het Scheepvaartmuseum Me-0423 (72).

Citation: Quaerendo 47, 3-4 (2017) ; 10.1163/15700690-12341392

The crossed arrows appeared on average about three times in each atlas in five variations, two with a straight end of the shaft (Fig. 25-26) and three with a notch in the end of the shaft (Fig. 27-29).33

figure 25
figure 25
Formerly Stevens collection (70).

Citation: Quaerendo 47, 3-4 (2017) ; 10.1163/15700690-12341392

figure 26
figure 26
Göttingen Auct. gr. V 4149 Inc.

Citation: Quaerendo 47, 3-4 (2017) ; 10.1163/15700690-12341392

figure 27
figure 27
© The British Library Board, IC.19313.

Citation: Quaerendo 47, 3-4 (2017) ; 10.1163/15700690-12341392

figure 28
figure 28
Göttingen Auct. gr. V 4149 Inc. (62).

Citation: Quaerendo 47, 3-4 (2017) ; 10.1163/15700690-12341392

figure 29
figure 29
© The British Library Board, C.3.d.9 (60).

Citation: Quaerendo 47, 3-4 (2017) ; 10.1163/15700690-12341392

The scissors were only found once in each atlas in two variations (Fig. 30-31), or not at all.34

figure 30
figure 30
© The British Library Board, C.3.d.9.

Citation: Quaerendo 47, 3-4 (2017) ; 10.1163/15700690-12341392

figure 31
figure 31
Göttingen Auct. gr. V 4149 Inc. (75).

Citation: Quaerendo 47, 3-4 (2017) ; 10.1163/15700690-12341392

The 1507/8 Edition

Maps

A crossbow in a circle type 2 (Fig. 32) was present in atlases in Göttingenix and Amsterdamx.35 Another crossbow in a circle type 3 (Fig. 33) was found in Münchenxi.36

figure 32
figure 32
© The British Library Board, C.1.d.6 (57).

Citation: Quaerendo 47, 3-4 (2017) ; 10.1163/15700690-12341392

figure 33
figure 33
© The British Library Board, C.1.d.6 (58).

Citation: Quaerendo 47, 3-4 (2017) ; 10.1163/15700690-12341392

The tau cross in a circle with a cross on top in two variations (Fig. 34-35) appeared in the same atlasesix-xi.37

figure 34
figure 34
Göttingen Auct. gr. V 4151 Inc. (70).

Citation: Quaerendo 47, 3-4 (2017) ; 10.1163/15700690-12341392

figure 35
figure 35
Göttingen Auct. gr. V 4151 Inc. (66).

Citation: Quaerendo 47, 3-4 (2017) ; 10.1163/15700690-12341392

The title-page and binding of these atlases contain the year 1507, but none of them contained the Ruijsch world map.

In Londonxii and Florencexiii seven other watermarks appeared in a 1507 edition. In the Ruijsch world map in Londonxii two crossed arrows with a globule at the end of the shaft (Fig. 36) were present.38 Further, a tree in a circle in two variations (Fig. 37-38),39 an anchor in a circle (Fig. 39),40 a crossbow in a circle type 4 (Fig. 40) and a crossbow in a double circle with a star on top type 5 in two variations (Fig. 41-42) were found.

figure 36
figure 36
© The British Library Board, C.1.d.4.

Citation: Quaerendo 47, 3-4 (2017) ; 10.1163/15700690-12341392

figure 37
figure 37
© The British Library Board, C.1.d.4 (52).

Citation: Quaerendo 47, 3-4 (2017) ; 10.1163/15700690-12341392

figure 38
figure 38
© The British Library Board, C.1.d.4.

Citation: Quaerendo 47, 3-4 (2017) ; 10.1163/15700690-12341392

figure 39
figure 39
© The British Library Board, C.1.d.4.

Citation: Quaerendo 47, 3-4 (2017) ; 10.1163/15700690-12341392

figure 40
figure 40
© The British Library Board, C.1.d.4 (56).

Citation: Quaerendo 47, 3-4 (2017) ; 10.1163/15700690-12341392

figure 41
figure 41
© The British Library Board, C.1.d.4.

Citation: Quaerendo 47, 3-4 (2017) ; 10.1163/15700690-12341392

figure 42
figure 42
© The British Library Board, C.1.d.4 (76).

Citation: Quaerendo 47, 3-4 (2017) ; 10.1163/15700690-12341392

In the 1508 atlas from Michiganxiv the same watermarks (Fig. 36-38, 40, 42) as in the Londonxii 1507 edition were found. In addition, another crossbow in a circle type 6 (Fig. 43) was present in Michiganxiv.

figure 43
figure 43
William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan Atl 1508 Pt.

Citation: Quaerendo 47, 3-4 (2017) ; 10.1163/15700690-12341392

In the 1508 edition in Londonxv only the crossbow in a circle type 2 (Fig. 32) and type 3 (Fig. 33) were found in the map section. In the Ruijsch world map of this atlas the crosbow in a circle type 2 (Fig. 32) was present.

Text

The regular text pages of all atlases of the 1507, as well as the 1508 edition, mainly contain a large bird with a crown in two variations (Fig. 44-45) and sometimes a small bird, also in two variations (Fig. 47-48).41

figure 44
figure 44
Göttingen Auct. gr. V 4151 Inc. (73).

Citation: Quaerendo 47, 3-4 (2017) ; 10.1163/15700690-12341392

figure 45
figure 45
From the collection Het Scheepvaartmuseum Me-0338.

Citation: Quaerendo 47, 3-4 (2017) ; 10.1163/15700690-12341392

figure 46
figure 46
From the American Geographical Society Library University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries ags Rare Fol G87.P85X1508.

Citation: Quaerendo 47, 3-4 (2017) ; 10.1163/15700690-12341392

figure 47
figure 47
© The British Library Board, C.1.d.4 (32).

Citation: Quaerendo 47, 3-4 (2017) ; 10.1163/15700690-12341392

figure 48
figure 48
Göttingen Auct. gr. V 4151 Inc.

Citation: Quaerendo 47, 3-4 (2017) ; 10.1163/15700690-12341392

In the 1508 atlases from Londonxv and Milwaukeexvi a second type of the large bird with a crown was found.42 The neck of this large bird was curved instead of straight and the morphology of its backside was different (Fig. 46). This type of bird with a crown only and exclusively appeared in the text pages that were added to the 1508 edition. It was not found in the regular text pages of the 1507 as well as of the 1508 edition.

General Findings

The quality of the fiber structure of the paper of a map and of text sections varied in each atlas. Per section sometimes with more and sometimes with less variation in thickness. For all atlases and sections, the quality of the fiber structure of the paper was more consistent than the thickness of the paper. In general, compared to the 1478 and 1507/8 editions, the paper used in the 1490 edition is of a better and more consistent quality. The paper used for the map section of the 1507/8 edition, that has the greatest variety in watermarks, seems to be of a lesser quality, sometimes velvety, easy to tear and almost fragile. The paper used for the book print was at least as good, or even better in some 1508 atlases, than the paper used for the intaglio print.

Quite often remarkable differences in the printing quality of the left and right half of a map were noticed. These differences in printing quality were present in almost every atlas studied.

Most atlases were rebound in the seventeenth or eighteenth century. Therefore, leaves with different watermarks were present at the beginning and the end of an atlas, or in between the text pages and the map section in the so-called flyleaves. Exceptions found were the 1490 atlases in Göttingenxvii and Münchenxviii. These were the only atlases studied in person which contained flyleaves at the beginning and the end of the atlas with the same watermarks as in the text pages.

The separate maps in all atlases contained one, two or no watermarks. They could be found in the right or left half of a map, upside down or, vice versa, in either half of the map, with a variation or the same watermark in the other half and with the same or a different orientation. About a quarter of the maps had no watermark, a quarter had watermarks in both leaves of the map and half the maps had a watermark in one leaf. In general, the same watermark or a variation was present in each map with two watermarks. However six exceptions were found. The map Sexta Asiae Tabula of the 1507 edition from the Göttingenix collection contained a tau cross in a circle with a cross on top in one half of the map and a crossbow in a circle type 2 in the other half of the map. The maps Quarta Europe and Quinta Asiae Tabula of the 1507 edition from the Münchenxi collection contained a tau cross in a circle with a cross on top in one half of the map and a crossbow in a circle type 3 in the other half of the map. The map Tercia Asiae Tabula of the 1507 edition in Londonxii contained the combination of a crossbow in a circle type 4 and a tree in a circle. The map Quarta Africae Tabula of the 1507 edition in Florencexiii contained the combination of a tree in a circle and a crossbow in a circle. In the map Quarta Europe Tabula of the 1490 edition in Amsterdamvii a crown in a circle and the cardinal’s hat were found together.

The 1490 edition had the greatest diversity in watermarks in the text section. Some of them—scissors and crossed arrows—were rarely found, others—tau cross in a circle with a cross on top and ladder in a circle with a star on top—rather frequently. The sequence, the frequency and the location of the watermarks in the text pages were quite similar for the various atlases. The scissors were only found once in each atlas, always in the beginning of each atlas, in two specific pages near to each other, but not at all in the atlases in Amsterdamiv,vii and Münchenxviii. The crossed arrows were found further on in random order, quite close together, in a limited range of pages. In the text section following the maps only the tau cross in a circle with a cross on top and the ladder in a circle with a star on top were present. This similarity in sequence, frequency and location of watermarks in the text pages is also found in the other editions.

In the 1507 and 1508 editions sets of maps with identical watermarks were found in the map section of both editions. They either contained a set of maps with the watermarks crossbow in a circle type 2 or 3 (Londonxv) in combination with the watermark tau cross in a circle with a cross on top (Göttingenix, Amsterdamx and Münchenxi), or the watermarks crossed arrows with a globule at the end of the shaft, tree in a circle, anchor in a circle, crossbow in a double circle with a star on top type 5, and the crossbow in a circle type 4 or 6 (Londonxii, Florencexiii, Michiganxiv and Milwaukeexvi). No hybrids of these sets of watermarks in an atlas were found. Both sets of maps were found in 1507 as well as 1508 editions of the atlas. Several of the watermarks crossbow in a circle (type 2) from the 1507 edition in Göttingenix were traced. These tracings were laid over the watermarks crossbow in a circle type 2 and 3 found in the 1508 edition in Londonxv and the 1507 edition in Amsterdamx. It showed they were identical, or nearly identical.

The 1507 editionxii as well as the 1508xv edition in London contained the Ruijsch world map. The 1507 edition with the crossed arrows with a globule at the end of the shaft, according to Donald McGuirk state 3C. The 1508 edition with the crossbow in a circle type 2, according to McGuirk state 2B.

Discussion

The distribution of watermarks found in the map (one, two or none) leads to the assumption that the paper was cut in half before printing and assembled by the bookbinder afterwards. None, one or two watermarks appearing in a division of respectively 25%, 50% and 25% in the maps is the mathematically expected distribution of watermarks when a sheet of paper containing one watermark is cut in two, to print two separate halves of a map, which are united again after printing to form one map.

Prints with the same mould pattern are expected to be from the same batch of paper. From the findings may be concluded that the printer paid no attention at all to the sheet of paper he picked up to print, nor to the direction in which he put the piece of paper in the printing press, or to which side of the paper was up or down. Nevertheless, the same watermark, or a variation of the watermark, was always found in a map with a watermark in each half of the map with six exceptions. Therefore, one may assume that the maps were printed in a multiple, or divisible number of leaves in a ream of paper. Otherwise different watermarks in left and right halves of maps would have to be found more frequently. Marriages of watermarks in a map may occur at the transition from a ream of paper to the next ream. Other explanations are the use of a leaf of paper prepared to be used when something went wrong during printing, or the insertion of a leaf of paper from another stock or ream by the paper manufacturer. Furthermore, one must realize that there are probably more exceptions than just the six mentioned. Only the maps containing two different watermarks can be recognized. Therefore, there may be composites of different reams of paper with a blank half, or even two blank halves. It is not possible to recognize these, however.

From the random distribution of the different variations of scissors and arrows over a limited number of text pages may be concluded that a ream, or reams, of paper must have been divided over several printing presses. Or, paper for several presses was taken from a central stock during printing. When the same method of printing, as applied in the text pages, would have been used for printing the maps, lots of marriages of watermarks in maps should have been found.

The 1507 and 1508 editions contain sets of maps with two different sets of watermarks. They were found in both editions but never combined. McGuirk wrote that state 2B with the watermark crossbow in a circle (type 2, Fig. 32) is present in the 1508 atlas in Londonxv; that state 3C with the watermark two crossed arrows with a globule at the end of the shaft (Fig. 36) is present in the 1507 atlas in Londonxii.43 The present study confirms his statements. The paper with the crossbow in a circle type 2, state 2B, must have been printed before the paper with the crossed arrows with a globule at the end of the shaft, state 3C. McGuirk further shows that maps with both watermarks are present in 1507 as well as in 1508. He also writes that all states of the Ruijsch map are found in both editions. The findings in the present study concerning the sets of maps present in both editons are therefore confirmed by his findings concerning the Ruijsch world map. From the exclusive appearance of the watermark large bird with a crown and a curved neck in the new text pages, which were only added to the 1508 edition, one can deduce that these were printed at a different moment and in another print run than the regular text pages of both the 1507 and 1508 edition.

To date individual maps without a watermark, other paper characteristics such as chain lines, vergé structure and paper and printing quality have to be studied in more detail. This might be the subject of new research. However the following was observed. The width of the chain lines on the pages without a watermark were quite similar to those on the pages bearing a watermark, except for the location of the watermark. So this offers no help. The vergé structure of the paper used for the 1478 edition seems different and broader than in the other editions. The paper structure might be another feature, different for each of the four editions. However, the 1490, 1507 and 1508 editions contain maps with different watermarks from perhaps different paper manufacturers. It is therefore difficult to link the paper structure to a certain edition. As the differences in printing quality were within an atlas and also between different editions, it doesn’t seem useful either. An impression showing lots of scratches, guide lines and many very fine details still present, might be dated 1478. These features are only visible on a very early print. They disappear after printing 40 to 50 copies from a new copper plate.

Conclusions

Altogether, from the observations it may be concluded that the 1478 and the 1490 editions have their own specific (type of) watermarks. This applies to the text as well as to the map pages. Looking at the paper characteristics, the 1507 and 1508 editions seem to be one and the same edition. The different sets of maps were found in 1507, as well as in 1508 editions. It seems that these maps can only accidentally be dated 1507 or 1508 by the presence of a title-page, the presence of certain text pages with the watermark large bird with a curved neck and the binding. In the 1478 edition the least variety of watermarks was present. This edition was the smallest and apparently at the time a large stock of identical paper was available. Another reason may be a greater demand and therefore a larger production of paper in later years, resulting in more different types of watermarks.

With an exception for the very early print it seems very difficult to date an individual map without a watermark. At best, if all characteristics point in the same direction, it might be a map from any specific edition but without solid proof. Mostly, characteristics will point in different directions. Thus, dating individual maps without a watermark continues to be very difficult, or even impossible. The only exceptions to this conclusion are the modern maps and the Ruijsch world map. They will always date to 1507 or 1508.

These observations and conclusions have to be put in perspective. Not every remaining atlas in the world has been studied. So one cannot speak of absolute truth. On the other hand, the findings are so consistent that they cannot be ignored either.

Destombes was right with his suggestion: the answer lies in the watermarks.44 However, he does not mention all the watermarks found in this study. Neither does he mention whether they were present in text or map pages. The findings of our research answer the questions posed in the introduction and provide an overview of the watermarks present in the different editions. Tolias’s statement about the watermark arcabaleno in the map on the binding of a 1507/1508 edition must have been a misinterpretation. A map with the same colouring and gold heightening as in the book Mapping Greece was found on the internet. It has the cardinal’s hat as a watermark and therefore can be dated 1490.45 Maybe because of the blue colouring only the curved part of the cardinal’s hat was observable and interpreted as a rainbow, an arcobaleno.

This project was undertaken to try to date more accurately the individual maps from the different early Rome editions of Ptolemy’s Cosmography. For maps containing a watermark this seems to have been successful. For maps without a watermark, in most cases this is still difficult or even impossible. Perhaps in the future with more knowledge and new or better techniques these maps can be dated more precisely.

1

Adolf E. Nordenskiöld, Facsimile Atlas to the Early History of Cartography with Reproductions of the Most Important Maps Printed in the XV and XVI Centuries (New York 1973).

2

J. Lennart Berggren, Alexander Jones, Ptolemy’s Geography (Princeton and Woodstock 2000).

3

For general information about Ptolemaic atlases, see: The Development of the Printed Atlas; Part 2: Ptolemaic Atlases (http://www.mapforum.com/02/ptolemy1.htm, accessed 2 November 2016).

4

The manuscript is listed in S. De Ricci, Census of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in the United States and Canada (New York 1935; Supplement, ibid. 1962). It is dated about 1460, reminiscent of a Ptolemy now in Modena made for Borso d’Este. The identifiers of the New York Public Library are: rlin/oclc: nypw89-A695; nypl catalog id (B-number): b12455533; uuid: 0950cbb0-c5cc-012f-7b54-58d385a7bc34. http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/search/index?utf8=%E2%9C%93&keywords=geographia+1478# [Accessed 2 November 2016]. This website shows the maps of the manuscript by Donnus Nicolaus Germanus.

5

Catalogue of Books Printed in the XVth Century now in the British Museum, Vol. 6, 814.

6

Nordenskiöld, op. cit. (n. 1).

7

Tony Campbell, ‘Letter Punches: a Little-Known Feature of early engraved Maps’, Print Quarterly, 4 (1987), pp. 151-4.

8

Donald L. McGuirk Jr, ‘Ruysch World Map: Census and Commentary’, Imago Mundi, 41 (1989), pp. 133-41; B. Swan, ‘The Ruysch Map of the World’ (1507-1508), Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America, 45 (1951), pp. 219-36.

9

Marcel Destombes, Catalogue des cartes gravées au xve siècle (No place 1952).

10

Claudius Ptolemaeus, Cosmographia: Roma 1478, with an introd. by Raleigh A. Skelton (Amsterdam 1966); Rodney W. Shirley, The Mapping of the World: Early Printed World Maps 1472-1700 (London 1983).

11

John Jackson, A Treatise on Wood Engraving, Historical and Practical (London 1839), p. 244.

12

Skelton, op. cit. (n. 10).

13

Nordenskiöld, op. cit. (n. 1).

14

Ibid.

15

Tony Campbell, The Earliest Printed Maps 1472-1500 (Berkeley and Los Angeles 1988), pp. 131-2.

17

http://www.martayanlan.com/pdf/MLA_Catalogue_45.pdf [Accessed 2 November 2016]. This website shows the statement mentioned in the text on page 8 of catalogue 45.

18

http://www.antiqua-global-art.com/kartograph_d_M_2007-09_E.html [Accessed 2 November 2016]. This website shows the watermark cardinal’s hat and the claim it belongs to the 1478 edition. Furthermore it shows a map with the watermark cardinal’s hat and the same colouring and gold heigthening as the maps on the binding of and mentioned in Mapping Greece by George Tolias.

19

George Tolias, Mapping Greece 1420-1800. A History, Maps in the Margarita Samourkas Collection (Houten 2012).

21

Destombes, op. cit. (n. 9).

22

The Incunabula Short Title Catalogue of the British Library was consulted to find the number of remaining copies. About 40 1478 atlases in 38 intitutions and about 160 1490 atlases in 136 institutions were found.

23

The following websites were accessed on 2 November 2016: https://www.wdl.org/en/item/10664/#q=ptolemy+1478. On this website you can download the 1478 atlas from the University Library of Naples; http://bvpb.mcu.es/es/catalogo_imagenes/grupo.cmd?path=4904. On this website you can download the 1478 atlas from the Biblioteca de la Real Academia de la Historia Madrid; http://bvpb.mcu.es/es/catalogo_imagenes/grupo.cmd?path=5043. At this page of the same website you can download the 1490 atlas from the Biblioteca de la Real Academia de la Historia Madrid.

24

The watermark crossbow in a circle is the only one granted typology because it is the only watermark appearing in maps of various editions. See Charles M. Briquet, Les Filigranes: dictionnaire historique des marques du papier dès leur apparition vers 1282 jusqu’en 1600, 4 vols. (Paris 1907), vol. 1, p. 52, no. 746.

25

Briquet, op. cit. (n. 24 ), vol. 3, p. 539, no. 10474.

26

Briquet, op. cit. (n. 24), vol. 1, p. 224, no. 3391.

27

Bernstein Memory of Paper, Ref. number IT5235-PO-32312 [Accessed 2 November 2016].

28

Gerhard Piccard, Wasserzeichen Lilie (Stuttgart 1983), no. 945.

29

Briquet, op. cit. (n. 24), vol. 2, p. 294, no. 4866.

30

See https://lccn.loc.gov/65058844 [Accessed 2 November 2016]. This record of the Library of Congress describes its second copy as a made-up copy.

31

Gerhard Piccard, Wasserzeichen Kreuz (Stuttgart 1981), no. 99.

32

Briquet, op. cit. (n. 24), vol. 2, p. 345, no. 5920.

33

Ibid., p. 362, no. 6280; Bernstein Memory of Paper, Ref. number AT5540-SAFrHS5_157 and AT5540-SAFrHS5_163 [Accessed 2 November 2016].

34

Briquet, op. cit. (n. 24), vol. 2, p. 237, no. 3677; Gerhard Piccard, Wasserzeichen Werkzeug und Waffen (Stuttgart 1980), no. 881; Bernstein Memory of Paper, Ref. number AT8100-R154_4 [Accessed 2 November 2016].

35

Piccard, op. cit. (n. 34).

36

Here, images of the London 1508 atlas shelfmark C.1.d.6 are displayed because these are the same and of a better quality than the ones from the atlases mentioned; Bernstein Memory of Paper, Ref. number AT5000-GB56_1_367 [Accessed 2 November 2016].

37

Piccard, op. cit. (n. 31), no. 101.

38

Piccard, op. cit. (n. 31), no. 99.

39

Briquet, op cit. (n. 24 ), vol. 1, p. 53, no. 773; G. Piccard, Wasserzeichen Blatt, Blume, Baum (Stuttgart 1982), no. 491.

40

G. Piccard, Wasserzeichen Anker (Stuttgart 1978), no. 60.

41

Briquet, op. cit. (n. 24), vol. 3, p. 612, no. 12164.

42

Bernstein, op. cit. (n. 36).

43

McGuirck, art. cit. (n. 8).

44

Destombes, op. cit. (n. 9).

45

See n. 18.

Title:
The Watermarks in the Rome Editions of Ptolemy’s Cosmography and More
Article Type:
Research Article
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1163/15700690-12341392
Language:
English
Pages:
307–327
Keywords:
watermarks; Ptolemy; Cosmography; Rome; 1478; 1490; 1507/8
In:
Quaerendo
In:
Volume 47: Issue 3-4
Publisher:
Brill
E-ISSN:
1570-0690
Print ISSN:
0014-9527
Subjects:
Early Modern History, History, Book History, History of the Book, Book History and Cartography

Content Metrics

All Time Past Year Past 30 Days
Abstract Views 136 0 0
Full Text Views 1035 210 92
PDF Views & Downloads 557 261 10