Sacrae Geographiae Tabulam Antiquissimorum Cultor Familiis a Mose Recensitis : ad Sacrorum libror explicandor commoditatem Antuuerpiae in Philippi regis catholici gratia describebat

Rare variant of Arias Montanus&#8217s famous 1571 world map showing how the world was repopulated by Noah’s three sons and first published by Christophe Plantin for the Polyglot Bible of which the greater part was lost at sea. At the time this was the earliest map to show the northern Australia coast in a shape and location approximating its actual position. It was published over thirty years before the first recorded European discovery of Australia by Janz in 1606. It is this map that has given credence to the idea that the Portuguese explorers had prior knowledge of Australia. Additionally it is a radical departure from the contemporary depiction of the southern land mass known as Terra Australis Incognita which was traditionally shown as extending along the entire southern polar region from east to west. From John Pearson, Critici Sacri: sive Annotata doctissimorum virorum in Vetus ac Novum Testamentum. Quibus accedunt tractatus varii theologico-philologici, published in London 1660 which was an important work on biblical scholarship. It clearly uses Montanus&#8217s original geographical features but now all the original decorative elements on the map have been completely removed and replaced by scenes of the Garden of Eden and the Flood. References SHI MOTW Not in Shirley