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Ancient Universal Map according to Ptolemy, 1578

SKU:  189713

Ancient Universal Map according to Ptolemy, 1578

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Gerardus Mercator, commonly known as Gerard Mercator, was a renowned Flemish cartographer, geographer, and mathematician. He was born on March 5, 1512, in Rupelmonde, Flanders (now part of Belgium), and he passed away on December 2, 1594, in Duisburg, Duchy of Cleves (now part of Germany).

"Universalis Tabula Iuxta Ptolemaeum" (Latin for "A Universal Map according to Ptolemy") refers to a series of maps created by Mercator and based on the work of Claudius Ptolemy, an ancient Greek geographer and astronomer. Ptolemy's "Geographia" was a famous work containing a collection of world maps and a guide to mapmaking principles.

Mercator is best known for his significant contributions to cartography, particularly for developing the Mercator projection, a cylindrical map projection designed to represent the Earth's surface on a flat plane. The Mercator projection preserves straight lines, making it ideal for navigation and plotting courses on sea charts. However, it distorts the size of landmasses at higher latitudes, leading to an exaggerated depiction of areas near the poles.

In addition to cartography, Mercator made significant advancements in the field of geography and mapmaking. He published numerous maps and atlases, including a groundbreaking world map titled "Nova et Aucta Orbis Terrae Descriptio ad Usum Navigantium Emendate Accommodata" (New and Augmented Representation of the Earth Corrected for the Use of Navigators), first published in 1569. This map was based on his innovative projection and became highly influential for its navigational purposes.

Besides cartography, Mercator was a skilled mathematician and geographer. He produced globes, instruments, and various works on mathematical geography and astronomy.

Find more maps of Gerard Mercator

Materials

Cotton canvas, matte photo paper, fine art paper, pigmented inks.

  • The canvas it's 99 % cotton, 450 gr/sqm;
  • The matte photo paper it's acid-free (archival paper), 190 gr/sqm;
  • The fine art photo paper it's satinated (semi-glossy), 140 gr/sqm.

Shipping & Returns

Dispatching time: 1-2 days.

* AirMail option: The orders will be sent by priority registered mail, usually via client National Post (USPS, Canada Post, Royal Mail, LaPoste, Deutsche Post, PostNL, etc). The delivery times are not guaranteed, sometimes it will take longer and these are beyond our control. Tracking number will be provided. Clients from US and Canada cannot track the parcels as the tracking numbers are not rolled in USPS and Canada Post systems.

* UPS standard: The orders will be sent with UPS expedited option. The delivery time it's between 5-11 days. Tracking number will be provided after dispatch.

* UPS express: : The orders will be sent with UPS express saver. The delivery time it's between 4-7 days. Tracking number will be provided after dispatch.

Framing tips

Both type of materials, paper and canvas prints come rolled and will be need to be taken to your local framers.

The image it's printed with a border of 0.6 " (1.5 cm), for framing purposes only.

If you have already a frame, be sure you send us the exact size of the print that will fit inside the frame. We're printing on vectorial plotters so the size could slightly be more or less with 0.4" (1 cm).

If you plan to have the canvas print stretched on wooden frame, you'll need additional border, so please let us know after placing the order.

The images above was cropped from the image at the biggest size available (keeping the best quality and aspect /ratio), so, for good details please choose biggest dimensions that will suit your preferences / space.

Care Instructions

The print media (canvas or photo paper) could be cleaned only with a dry, soft cloth.

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