EARLIEST MAP DEVOTED TO NORTH AMERICA. FORLANI, PAULO. fl.1560-1571. Il Disegno Del Discoperto D...

EARLIEST MAP DEVOTED TO NORTH AMERICA. FORLANI, PAULO. fl.1560-1571. Il Disegno Del Discoperto Della Nova Franza.... Venice: Bolognini Zaltieri, 1566. Engraved map, 280 x 400 mm, margins trimmed, some minor loss to lower margins, mounted on larger sheet. Provenance: Manuscript note in German to verso of sheet; Sold to benefit Goodwill Industries of Southern New England, Inc. THE FIRST PRINTED MAP DEVOTED TO NORTH AMERICA, the second state with Zaltieri imprint beneath the cartouche. This rare and important map was not only the first to focus primarily on North America ('Nova Franza') but was also among the first, following Gastaldi, to depict the Strait of Anian, separating America and Asia. Based on Marco Polo's description of Aniu, Gastaldi was the first to graphically depict the separation of the two continents in 1561, followed here by Forlani. The myth of the Strait of Anian would persist throughout the 18th-century, offering the elusive vision of a Northwest Passage. Historically, the map was attributed to Zaltieri based on the imprint, but fairly recent scholarship by David Woodward proved the existence of an earlier state drawn and engraved by Forlani, who then sold his plates to Zaltieri in late 1565 or early 1566, who added his imprint. The rarity and the importance of the map in the history of exploration and mapping of the Americas make this one of the most desirable maps in the market. Burden 33; Cohen, Mapping of the West 29; Tooley 80; The World Encompassed 207; Woodward 'The Forlani Map of North America,' Imago Mundi pp 29-40. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing