Johannes Rau - Cosmographia - 1597

Cosmographia. That is: a beautiful, accurate and complete description of the divine creature's heavens and earth, first edition of 1597.

This extremely rare and significant work from the late 16th century provides a comprehensive view of the worldview of that era. The Cosmographia combines natural philosophy, astronomical and geographical knowledge, and stands among the earliest encyclopedic representations of the known world.

First, the origin of the world and the cosmos is presented from an early modern perspective, in which religious interpretations and natural observations are closely intertwined. Heaven and Earth are described as part of the divine creation, supplemented by contemporary notions of the structure and order of the universe. A further emphasis is on astronomy, with discussions of celestial bodies, constellations, planetary motions, and cosmic connections according to the knowledge of the Renaissance.

Moreover, the work contains detailed geographic descriptions of the known world. Countries, regions, and landscapes are described, as well as important cities with their historical, political, and economic peculiarities. Numerous maps, woodcuts, and illustrations accompany the text, and on the last pages there is also a report about the “New World.”

Overall, the Cosmographia stands as an impressive testament to the early modern worldview and documents the knowledge of an era defined by discoveries, scientific curiosity, and the attempt to grasp the world as a whole.

The book contains 19 (instead of 21) cards, a folded genealogical table, and 91 (instead of 92) woodcuts.

The book has been restored, the title page is slightly darkened. On many pages there are stains from a moisture damage from the time, especially the last pages are heavily stained and yellowed. Further back there are also a few handwritten notes and markings. A woodcut on page 15 is missing; the missing piece was repaired with paper, the cut itself is not present.
There is also a missing leaf from the preface, pages 503–504 (including a map), pages 217–218 (including a map), several leaves of the index, and the last page on which the year and place of printing are noted again.
In the renewed binding with 2 clasps.

Collation: Title page, 4 pages of front matter (of 5), 1030 pages, 4 pages of index (of 11), 1 page (page 1031 is the last page due to a binding error)
Dimensions: 37 x 25 cm