Magini's Ptolemy — Pair of Maps: Holy Land & Egypt/Nile 1596 (First Magini Edition)
Magini's Ptolemy — Pair of Maps: Holy Land & Egypt/Nile 1596 (First Magini Edition)
A matched pair of original 1596 engraved Magini/Ptolemy maps — the Holy Land with Palestine, and Egypt with the Nile River. Together these maps form the biblical-cartographic heart of Magini's atlas: the lands of the Old and New Testaments as understood through Ptolemaic geography. Originally published together by S. Galignani de Karera's Heirs in Venice.
Why Buy as a Pair
Framed as a diptych these two create a striking scholarly-decorative statement for a study, library, or religiously themed room. The pair purchase guarantees matched paper, margins, and coloring — an advantage for any collector planning to frame. Individual maps also available.
About Giovanni Antonio Magini (1555–1617)
Giovanni Antonio Magini was an Italian astronomer, astrologer, cartographer, and mathematician. Born in Padua, he held the chair of mathematics at the University of Bologna — chosen over Galileo Galilei for the position in 1588. A prolific writer, he authored works on celestial motion (he was a supporter of a geocentric solar system), surveying, trigonometry, and cartography.
About the Work
Magini's 1596 Latin edition of Claudius Ptolemy's Geographia, published in Venice by S. Galignani de Karera's Heirs, combined the 27 classical Ptolemaic maps with 37 "tabulae novae" reflecting contemporary geographic knowledge. The copper plates were engraved by the celebrated Venetian engraver Girolamo Porro (1520–1604), whose earlier work included the first obtainable specific map of North America in Porcacchi's 1572 Isole. Phillips notes: "The copperplate maps prepared for this edition, and engraved by Girolamo Porro, are on a smaller scale, and somewhat better executed than those in the editions of 1562."
Scarcity & Market Context
Individual Magini/Ptolemy maps appear at auction regularly but are never common; specific subjects (regional maps like Taprobana, Cyprus, Asia Minor) are especially prized. Complete 1596 or 1597 atlases sell in the $8,000–$18,000 range at specialist dealers. The Magini/Porro engravings are considered the finest Renaissance Ptolemy plates after Gastaldi's 1548 edition.
Institutional Holdings
Complete copies at the John Carter Brown Library (Brown University), the Newberry Library, the Bibliothèque nationale de France, the British Library, and major Italian state libraries.
Dimensions
Each sheet approximately 10 × 13.5 inches; plate mark approximately 7 × 9.5 inches
Frame: This piece ships unframed — the sheet or plate only. We can recommend framers in your area or ship to your preferred framer. Professional framing with archival materials typically runs $150–$400 depending on size and finish.
Shipping Terms
Shipping costs vary by product, packaging requirements, destination, carrier, and insurance value. We do not use flat-rate shipping because antique prints, maps, paintings, and books each require different packing — some ship flat between archival boards, some ship rolled, some require custom-built crates with shock absorption, and framed pieces need extra protection for glass and corners.
How our shipping process works:
- You place your order (shipping is calculated as $0 at checkout)
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- We contact you to confirm carrier options (USPS, UPS, FedEx, DHL), insurance value, and delivery timeline
- Once you approve the shipping quote, we send a separate invoice for shipping
- We pack with archival-grade materials and insure at full value
Questions on shipping before you buy? Contact us with your zip code (or international address) and we'll provide a quote before you commit to purchase.
Important Buyer Notice
These pieces are antique originals, ranging from approximately 100 to over 400 years old. Each piece will show varying degrees of age-appropriate condition: paper toning, foxing, edge wear, fold marks, minor restoration, light staining, and other natural signs of age are common and expected for works of this period. Condition varies from piece to piece.
It is the buyer's responsibility to confirm that the piece is in the condition they require before purchase. We are always happy to answer any questions about the state of the work, provide additional photographs of specific areas, describe any flaws or repairs in detail, or arrange a video review before you buy. Please contact us at any time with questions — we believe an informed buyer is the best customer.
All pieces are guaranteed authentic originals (not reproductions, facsimiles, or modern prints). We offer a full refund if authenticity is ever disputed by a qualified third party.