620 x 450mm., double-page woodcut map

Tibbett (13); Al Ankary 4.

Condition is described in the main body of the catalogue, where appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

A FINE EXAMPLE OF ONE OF THE EARLIEST OBTAINABLE MAPS OF ARABIA.

This rare map of the Arabian peninsula was published in Martin Waldseemuller's 1513 edition of Ptolemy’s Geographia, often considered the first modern atlas. The map stretches west to east from the Red Sea to a rather distended Arabian Gulf. Due to a miscal🌳culation on the part of Ptolemy, “the Arabian peninsula appears wider than it actually is. This extra width is in the south, whereas the north, which was better known as it was on the land trade routes linking the Mediterranean to the Arabian Gulಞf, was included by Ptolemy but he added an excessive distance to the Gulf which appears completely distorted in a rectangular shape with its longest side oriented east west” (Al Ankary).