"Lamina XXIX"

Subject: World
Period: 1678 (published)
Publication: Architectura Civil Recta, y Obliqua ... Parte II
Color: Black & White
Size: 10.8 x 7.1

This fascinating engraving was published in Juan Caramuel de Lobkowitz' ambitious work on architecture, in which he argued the superiority of "oblique" architecture over "straight" architecture (such as Vitruvian). The work was divided into nine books, with the first four dedicated to all the knowledge required by an architect to design a building, including mathematics and other sciences.

This engraving includes maps of the world and eastern hemisphere, as well as diagrams related to the four elements and another that appears to be a cross-section of the earth. The world map labels the four continents and depicts a massive southern continent. Only a few other place names are given, including Nova Fra[n]cia, Brasil, Guinea Nou., Tierra del Fuego, China and Japan. The map of the eastern hemisphere includes a bit more detail, labeling the southern continent Terra Australis Incognita and showing key rivers and lakes on each continent.
Condition: A+
A dark impression on a bright sheet with minor marginal soiling.