The second state of Girolamo Ruscelli’s modern map of the British Isles first published in the ‘Geographia’, 1561. The cartography is directly derived from George Lily’s exceedingly rare map published in Rome, 1546, considered the first modern map of the British Isles. The border contains figures or latitude and longitude, the ‘G’ in the corners most likely standing for the Latin ‘gradus’ for degrees. This map was one of two that were engraved on the same plate for the first edition. For this 1574 edition the two maps are separated, seen by the presence of a plate mark below.

Girolamo Ruscelli (c.1504-66) edited the Latin text for this quarto edition of Claudius Ptolemy’s classic work ‘Geographia’ which included newly engraved copper plates by the brothers Giulio (fl.1540-88) and Livio (c.1520-76) Sanuto. The work was first published by Vincenzo Valgrisi in Venice. However, the 1564 edition was published by Giordano Ziletti in Venice as was this 1574 edition. Provenance: Doreen Green 1991; private English collection. Nordenskiold (1979) 220; Shirley (1991) 111; Shirley (2004) T.Ptol 10e; Tooley’s Dictionary.