Maps as Prints in the Italian Renaissance

In the 15th and 16th centuries, maps changed their format and function. From being a specialized tool of the navigator or scholar, or an official communal artefact, they became part of everyday life by becoming prints. This book traces the trade in maps which grew up in Florence, Rome and Venice, and examines the roles of authors, engravers, printers and distributers, patrons and consumers in the map trade. The author, (upon whose Panizzi Lecture at the British Museum in 1995 the book is based), demonstrates the many themes common to the history of cartography, the history of printing and publishing, and print history.