Woodcut 285x415 mm hand-painted. Latin text on verso. Taken from "Claudii Ptolemaei Alexandrini geographicae enarrationis libri octo" edition of Ptolemy's "Geographia" edited by Michael Servetus known as Villanovanus, based on the 1522 edition by Laurent Fries, which in turn replicates Waldseemueller's famous 1513 edition, whose maps are reduced here. Fries' 1522 maps were reprinted identically in all editions, but with considerable variations to the title, side text and verso. Originally written around 150 A.D., the Geographia of Ptolemy, called the 'Father of Geography', laid down the basic principles of scientific geography; rediscovered in the Renaissance period and introduced into European circles, translated into Latin from Greek, the work represented the cornerstone of cartography for centuries. Fine specimen, with slight traces of surface soiling, minimal restoration to the central fold.