The third state of Girolamo Ruscelli’s modern map of the British Isles first published in the ‘Geographia’, 1561. In this state a ship has been added in the north Atlantic ocean and two sea monsters. The cartography is directly derived from George Lily’s exceedingly rare map published in Rome, 1546, considered the first modern map of the British Isles. The border contains figures or latitude and longitude, the ‘G’ in the corners most likely standing for the Latin ‘gradus’ for degrees.

Girolamo Ruscelli (c.1504-66) edited the Latin text for this quarto edition of Claudius Ptolemy’s classic work ‘Geographia’ which included newly engraved copper plates by the brothers Giulio (fl.1540-88) and Livio (c.1520-76) Sanuto. The work was first published by Vincenzo Valgrisi in Venice. Those of 1564 and 1574 were published by Giordano Ziletti, whereas this final edition of 1598 and 1599 were by the heirs of Melchoir Sessa. Provenance: London Map Fair, 2003; private English collection. Nordenskiold (1979) 227; Shirley (1991) 217; Shirley (2004) T.Ptol 10f; Tooley’s Dictionary.