De principiis astronomiae [&] cosmographiae, deq[ue] vsu globi ab eodem editi. Item de orbis diuisione, [&] insulis, rebusq[ue] nuper inuentis.

Gemma, Frisius, 1508-1555 · 1530 · [Louvain] : Vaeneunt cum globis Louanii apud Seruatium Zassenum, [&] ; Antuerpiae apud Gregorium Bontium sub scuto Basiliensi. · 2 pictures

A 1530 Latin treatise on astronomy and cosmography by Gemma Frisius, printed at Louvain and Antwerp, written to explain the use of the globe he had published and to describe the newly discovered lands of the world. The woodcuts show a armillary sphere diagram with Latin labels and a personified allegorical figure with two children inside an ornamental architectural frame; a designer could draw on their dense, precise line work, the ringed geometric instrument, and the Renaissance framing borders for scientific or cartographic graphics.

Geography -- Early works to 1800 · Astronomical instruments

Internet Archive · John Carter Brown Library · Public domain (published before 1931) · More from this library