APIAN (Pierre).
Cosmographia. Antwerp, Christophe Plantin, 1574. In-4, contemporary soft vellum.
Edition illustrated with a large vignette on the title (a world map), more than 100 woodcuts in the text (astronomical figures and measurements), 4 volvelles and a folding map captioned Charta cosmographica.
First published in 1524, the work, by the German astronomer and mathematician Petrus Apianus (1495-1552), summarizes the sum of astronomical and geographical knowledge of the time. It has long remained one of the most important works on the subject.
The spine has probably been stripped of a skin, as was the practice in the 18th century to standardize the volumes of a library. Angular staining to the last 25 leaves.
