Johannes Honter (1498-1549) was born in Kronstadt now in Romania. He graduated from Cracow University in 1530 and in the same year he wrote ‘Rudimentorum Cosmographiae’ published in Cracow with just two maps, no copy survives. Honter’s attention turned to the spread of humanism and the Reformation. He believed this was best achieved through schools and began producing small classical works. In 1546 a new edition was published in Zurich by C. Froshauer which included 14 woodblock maps. Preceding the maps is text written in Latin hexameters. This poetic form he believed was more suited to being memorised by students. It is written in four parts: astronomy, Europe, Asia and Africa with a section of scientific terminology. “He begins by enumerating the parts of the human body and the diseases that plague it. Then he enumerates a host of other natural and man-made things, including animals, plants, fruits, towns, occupations …” (Karrow). The world map is a reduction of Peter Apian’s from 1520 itself the earliest available map to name ‘America’. The monogram in the lower left corner of ‘HVE’ identifies the woodcutter as Heinrich Vogtherr the Elder. All of the woodcut maps with the exception of Sicily are double page and printed from two woodblocks. Three of these woodblocks survive to this day in the archives of Honter’s church in Brasov. There were numerous editions following to 1606. A TRULY SUPERB EXAMPLE OF A SIXTEENTH CENTURY ATLAS. Provenance: with manuscript H.F.V.A. 1592 to front cover; various manuscript ownership notations in early hand including ‘Sum ex libris Hilferici’ below title and Joannes Arnheiller inside front cover; twentieth century bookplate of U. P. pasted inside front cover. Capello, Carlo F. (1980) ‘Joannes Honterus et il suo Atlante Geografico Scolastico Cinquecentesco’; Karrow (1993) 41/C pp. 302-11; Shirley (1984) World no. 86; Shirley (2004) T.Hont 1a.