Description

FACSIMILE ATLAS by A. E. Nordenskiold, 1889, published by F. A. Norstedt & Soner, Stockholm . This magno work is in incredibly Good Condition, considering it's more than 120 years old and probably been consulted hundreds, if not more, times. The front and back covers are thick, two-toned leather covering hard paper boards measuring 20.25 " H x 15" W approximately. The front cover features the title, author's name, date of printing and a mind-blowing design which depicts an "orb" with the 4 cardinal points, what appears to be the Equator and references to the Mediterranean Sea, Europe and Africa (sure there is a term which describes this, but not that knowledgeable, sorry - bet it's defined, and referred to, in the text). Front and back covers also feature some darker leather "triangles" at upper and lower page edge corners, and darker leather vertical strips along the spine, which measures just under 2.25 inches thick. Binding itself is worked over pretty badly, which is unfortunate, since the author's name and title of the work appear in gorgeous gilded lettering along same (can be appreciated, but barely, due to the wear). The spine is remarkably square, with just the extreme upper portion "leaning in" a bit to the right. The binding - well, the binding is tight and 100% intact, with what appears to seller to be just one obvious exception, noted below. One good thing about this book's condition is that it's not all lacquered up with book "boot polish" and fakey stuff...up to you, Sr. Buyer, to repair or leave as is. Pages are definitely faded, and somewhat "wrinkly" near their attachment at the binding, which is of course understandable. But printing is clear and unbelievably "firm" - you can imagine the press "nailing it" on all the pages with text. The white linen "tape" appears in some, but definitely not all, parts of the binding, very skillfully placed from top to bottom, right at binding. This Seller's first impression was that this material was part of a some kind of professional repair job done at a point in time following publication, but now he's not so sure - could be part of original piece. Again, Seller is no expert in antiquities like this one. This Seller is not an antiquarian, but somehow this does not look like part of the original piece. See 3rd photo for good example of this. Incredibly interesting endpapers in a pattern of brown, vermillion red and tans. Might have to send photos of same to show off, but ran out of room in photo section above. In terms of cleanliness, this thing is virtually spotless, with only a few pages, notably pages 71 and 73, showing any smudges (and these are very faint fingertips). There is not one single mark in or on any of the pages, no previous owner's name, no nuthin' but facsimile maps and incredibly scholarly printed text. The work is broken down into two main sections, followed by a Preface from the author himself, in which his motivations in producing the work and his efforts to get same to press, as well as acknowledging the help he received by colleagues in Sweden. These sections are broadly described as follows: 1) 134 perfectly-intact, yet irregularly sized and cut, pages of text that go way deep into the history of cartography in general, and the maps of the 15th and 16th centuries in particular. This section is preceded by a "Contents" page, a photo of which appears as the 4th photo attached to this listing. Among the text of these 134 pages, there are a total of 84 facsimile maps inserted - all are incredible and worth the price of admission by themselves, even without the text! Immediately following these pages, there is are two pages of "Addenda" and a 5-page "Index," wherein, at the very bottom of the last page of same, the only reference to the publisher in the entire work is made. All tolled, 141 numbered pages in this first main section; 2) 51 "stand-alone" (no text accompanying) facsimile maps, some with two or more individual parts, numbered with Roman numerals. These pages are presented in such a way that there are map reproductions on two opposing pages, preceded by, and followed by, a blank page, the effect of which is 2 pages with a map (or series of maps) reproduced followed by two totally blank pages. Will be glad to sent photos of this. One more thing to note about this section, or parts thereof: Maps XXXIII and XL are the only ones in the entire work to contain small amounts of different color - red - ink, both in lettering and in line coloring. Interesting; would love to understand why this is. Worthwhile to mention that in the beginning of the work, just after the "Contents" section, there are indices of these two individual main sections, an example of which appears in the 6th photo, above. 2 very important points to make at this point: 1) ALL of the maps contained in this incredible work - both the ones inserted into the text and stand-alones - are facsimiles / reproductions (and mighty fine ones at that) of the original works by 15th and 16th Century master mapmakers, but the work - the text itself - is 100% original, and this edition is an English translation of the author's original work, published in Swedish, also in 1889. All of this detail is addressed by the author in the Preface, same which immediately follows the mind-blowing, elaborately-illustrated, title page pictured in 2nd photo, above and 2) ALL of the maps mentioned in the contents sections are Present in same. Now for the downer, and a head scratcher: there are 4 "stand-alone" maps in the second half of the work that are not attached to the binding. We can group these into 2 categories: 1) The downer: Stand-along map Roman numeral "L" has clearly been removed from the binding. There is a kind of white linen tape on many pages which holds same into the binding, and it is clearly frayed here, indicating to Seller that someone previously had removed "L" from the "tape" which forms part of the binding. Good news within the bad is that the map itself, a double map, suffers absolutely no tear at all and that the binding itself is not compromised. Again, will be glad to send additional photos to document prior to your purchase. 2) The head scratcher: Maps "XLI" (a two-parter) and "XLII" are inexplicably loose from the binding, and here there is absolutely no evidence of a violation of the binding. Maybe ole Nordensky ran out of glue, decided to hit the tavern and spaced it out, not sure. But, again, none of the maps themselves have suffered any tear or other wear - they are simply not affixed to the binding. Suffice it to say that item will be packed with utmost care. Seller proposes to ship with USPS Media Mail...yes, Media Mail. Seller will insure for $2,000 and will also send with signed receipt requested (was informed by local USPS staff that this can be done with Media Mail - pleasant surprise - saves us both some money, will confirm delivery to you, dear Buyer, and insure my most valuable book in worst-case scenario. Total weight of the piece is 11 pounds. Estimated weight of package will be15 pounds.