The Archipelago of Greece by Bordone.

Bordone, Benedetto Archipelago. Greece. Venice Nicolò Zappino 1528
Double page wood engraved map of Greece and the Archipelago from the "Isolario" of Benedetto Bordone; set in a page of text with text to verso. Modern hand colour to sea; verso blank.
One of the few large plates from Bordone's Isolario. Good impression; as often, trimmed to top and bottom just missing plate outline; 2mm margins left and right; slight creasing due to guard at verso.

Benedetto Bordone (1460–1531)
was a manuscript editor, miniaturist and cartographer, he was born in Padua, who worked and died in Venice.

His most famous work is the "Isolario" or "Libro De Benedetto Bordone, Nel Qual Si Ragiona De Tutte L'Isole Del Mondo", in which he describes all the islands of the known world with their folklore, myths, cultures, climates, situations, and history. Printed in Venice in 1528 it is the first sixteenth century 'island book' not devoted entirely to the Mediterranean. The maps are plainly engraved with relatively little detail, but constitute, in many instances, the earliest separate depictions of the chosen region. The maps are set in pages of text and there were some 111 contained in the text. As one of the first cartographic publications to move away from the conventional production of Ptolemaic Geographia with some "modern" maps Bordone's is a fascinating and important work. It would be reprinted in 1534 &1547
Originally intended as a guide for sailors, Bordone's "Isolario "describes the important islands and ports throughout the Mediterranean and in other parts of the world, also touching on their culture and history. Some of the illustrations are among the earliest printed maps of the regions depicted. The book also includes new discoveries, such as the connection between North and South America.

Bordone was given permission by the Senate in 1508 to print maps of Italy and the world and the maps in Pliny's Natural History of 1513 are also attributed to him. However, it was his isolario, first published in 1528, that gave prominence to both his own work and the discoveries in the New World. it would go on to
Zacharakis: 481/284 285 by 400mm (11¼ by 15¾ inches).   ref: 2900  €1150