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Dear Bruce Fetter,
Assuming that the work by Father Fischer to
which you directed your friend is the two-volume
Claudii Ptolemaei Geographiae Codex Urbinas
Graecus 82, London and Leipzig, 1932, it is
highly unlikely that Fischer drew any of the
maps himself.
This work, for which the Pope awarded Fischer a
gold medal (and which Fischer himself considered
his magnum opus), was reviewed by Leo Bagrow soon
after its publication, and the chief criticism he
raised concerned Fischer's assumption that
Ptolemy's original work had contained actual
maps, including a world map.
Bagrow's review was published in Petermanns
geographische (Gotha, Justus Perthes) 73, no.
1 (1933), pp. 51-52; see also Leo Bagrow, "The
Origin of Ptolemy's Geographia," Geografiska
Annalar (Stockholm) (1941).
I hope this is of some help.
Kirsten A. Seaver
In a recent communication with a colleague, I recommended Fr. Joseph
Fischer's 1931 edition of the oldest Greek
manuscript (Milan) of Ptolemy's world map,
which is housed in the Vatican archives. Upon reflection, this may have been
a bum steer. The rectangular graticules of both the African and Asian maps
contain latitudes lines marked 0°. My books are packed for moving but my
recollection is that the 1478 and 1490 Rome printed editions do not contain
zeroes. This raises the question as to whether
Fr. Fischer constructed the maps
himself on the basis of Greek language co-ordinate lists. Can someone more
knowledgeable than I comment?
Bruce Fetter
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_______________________________________________
MapHist: E-mail discussion group on the history of cartography
hosted by the Faculty of Geosciences, University of Utrecht.
The statements and opinions expressed in this message are those of
the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the University of
Utrecht. The University of Utrecht does not take any responsibility for
the views of the author.
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