1493 SCHEDEL, H. - Madeburga [ Maagdenburg Folio CLXXX ]

Double page panoramic view of Magdeburg. A imaginary view, however the earliest obtainable view of this period.

Two page from the richest illustrated Incunable, the famous: Nuremberg Chronicle, published the year that Columbus returned to Europe after discovering America.
The woodblock cutters were Michael Wolgemut, the well-known teacher of Albrecht Dürer, and his stepson Wilhelm Pleydenwurff. Wohlgemut was Albrecht Dürer's tutor between 1486-90 and recent scholarship has shown, Albrecht Dürer may also have collaborated, since some of the cuts bear a remarkably close resemblance to the Apocalypse illustrations.

The printing was carried out under the supervision of the great scholar-printer Anton Koberger, whose printing were famous throughout Europe

The ship in the storm off Constantinople served as a model for the ship in the view of Magdeburg.
An opportunity to acquire a 15th-century book illustration by named artists.!

Reference: Morse Library Beloit College.

John Senex (1678-

John Senex was a prominent mapmaker, engraver, globemaker and publisher who practiced his trade in early eighteenth-century London. He began his career in 1695 as an apprentice to Robert Clavell of the Stationers’ Company, where he stayed until 1702. His early work primarily consisted of engraving plates for almanacs and scientific books, including Sir William Browne’s Account of Microscopes and Telescopes.
In 1706, he turned his talents to cartography and began engraving and selling maps, globes, and astronomical charts. In 1710, he obtained professional premises on Fleet Street in London, and Senex frequently engraved his maps with a description of his shop’s location. As such, many of the maps in this collection have a variation of the inscription, “Engraved by Iohn Senex and sold by him at the Globe against St. Dunstan's Church, Fleet Street, London”.
Between 1710 and his death in 1740, Senex rose to prominence with the publication of his updated version of Ogilby’s Britannia. Senex’s version was in miniature (‘improved, very much corrected, and made portable’) and included updated road maps of England and Wales. As appointed geographer to Queen Anne, Senex frequently published maps and astronomical charts with preeminent eighteenth-century scientists, including astronomer Sir Edmund Halley. Together they published several maps outlining the predicted path of Halley’s namesake comet, as well as star charts and astronomical globes. Their collaboration also included a contentious version of a star catalog that included astronomical data Halley obtained unethically from Astronomer Royal John Flamsteed. This led Flamsteed to purchase and subsequently destroy 300 of the 400 printed charts. Halley nominated Senex for fellowship to the Royal Society of London, which was granted in July of 1728. Senex was also highly respected for producing terrestrial and celestial globes, available in sizes ranging from three to twenty-eight inches.
Following Senex’s death, his wife Mary continued operating the publishing business on Fleet Street until her retirement in 1755. Mary published a broadsheet advertising the continued sale of Senex’s work after his death, which provides descriptions of available globes, and a list of the most popular maps along with prices.