Untitled Ptolemaic World Map - Gregor Reisch, 1503. (World Map Wall Art)
This print shows how people pictured the world right at the start of the Age of Discovery. Europe, Asia and North Africa are drawn in a curved, half oval shape, surrounded by strong black lines on warm parchment style paper. It feels like a page taken from a very early textbook and sits well in a study or library, especially next to old books, dark wood and brass details.
 
To learn more about the history of these pieces and how we craft them in our family workshop, feel free to read our full guide to antique map prints.

About this map print
This map comes from Gregor Reisch’s book Margarita Philosophica, an early printed encyclopedia for students that first appeared in Basel around 1503. and stayed popular for much of the 16th century. Reisch followed the ancient geographer Ptolemy, so the map only shows the part of the world that was considered “known” at that time. You see Europe, Asia and the northern part of Africa, and the Indian Ocean is drawn as a sea completely enclosed by land.
 
Across the narrow land bridge between Africa and Asia, a Latin note explains that this is actually sea and that there are islands here that Ptolemy never knew about. Many map historians see this as one of the first printed hints that the old view of the world was changing after new voyages and discoveries. Around the border, twelve wind heads blow in from all sides, each one with a different face. One of them wears early spectacles, which is often pointed out as one of the first printed images of eyeglasses on a world map.
 
This map belongs to the same Ptolemaic world map tradition as your later maps by Sebastian Münster, but here the woodcut lines are rougher and the world is tighter and more closed. When you place it next to Münster’s Ptolemaic World Map or his regional map Tabvla Evropae V, you can clearly see how the old textbook style slowly turns into the more open Renaissance mapping you get with Ortelius and Speed.
 
If you are curious about the history behind this piece, we put together a short background on this map for you to read.

Craft & finish
Every replica we make is individually hand-processed in our family workshop. We finish the paper with a traditional beeswax seal to give it a warm, heavy texture. Our team also adds subtle gold paint details by hand to help the artwork truly shine. To complete the look, we hand-burn the edges to give each piece the feel of a true historical artifact.
 
While our smaller sizes are perfect for gallery walls, our 43x61 cm Large replica is a museum-scale centerpiece. Because of the size, the hand-processing and beeswax application take much longer. This extra time and care ensures that every centimeter of the historic illustration is preserved with a rich, authentic glow.
 
Find more prints like this in our Antique Maps collection.