Cartographica Helvetica

Summary

Peter H. Meurer:

Maps in the Frankfurt Book Fair catalogues of Georg Willer from 1564 to 1592. Supplementary Sources for the History of Cartography I

Cartographica Helvetica 13 (1996) 31–37

Summary:

Beginning in 1564, Georg Willer, a bookseller in Augsburg, published a biannual catalogue of about 20 pages containing newly published books which were available at the spring and the autumn trade fair in Frankfurt. This new publication revolutionized the book trade in that the current book production could be made known to a large number of potential purchasers.

From the viewpoint of the history of cartography, the chapter Historici et Geographici is of particular interest. Because of the regular appearance of the fair catalogue and its superb listing of the new atlases, many publications can be dated fairly accurately. Maps not appearing in books and atlases were only listed in the catalogue if they were of particular interest to the people of Augsburg, such as maps of southwestern Germany or of theaters of war, for example the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1570.

The interesting titles of Georg Willer's catalogues from 1565 to 1592 dealing with the history of cartography are listed and briefly commented on.