Frankfort, Germany: A 16th Century Hand-colored Map by Braun & Hogenberg

This is an English translation of an excerpt from the original text in the atlas: "Frankenberg or, according to others, Francoburgum, a town in Hesse. Charlemagne vested the town of Frankenberg with many freedoms and privileges, which it still enjoys to this day, and on account of its valiant and victorious soldiers awarded a signet, upon which there formerly appeared a golden castle with a tower, together with the letter F and a golden crown.

Frankenberg, seen here from the northeast, lies on a hill above the River Eder. The hillside is covered with fields neatly separated by bushes and fences. Soaring above the town is the massive Liebfrauenkirche, which was modelled on St Elizabeth's church in Marburg. The New Town was founded in 1335 at the foot of the hill (right) and merged with the Old Town as late as 1556. Frankenberg was founded by Conrad of Thuringia in 1233/34 to prevent the archbishops of Mainz from expanding their sphere of influence in the region. The town quickly developed into a bustling centre of trade and commerce."

This striking hand-colored city view is printed on laid, chain-linked paper with wide margins. The sheet measures 14.75" high by 21.75" wide. There is a central vertical fold as issued and Latin text on the verso. There is mild discoloration in the margins and a small chip at the lower edge of the left margin. There is a thin hinge remnant on the verso at the upper edge near each corner. The map is otherwise in very good to excellent condition.

Braun and Hogenberg's 'The Civitates Orbis Terrarum' was the second atlas of maps ever published and the first atlas of cities and towns of the world. It is one of the most important books published in the 16th century. Most of the maps in the atlas were engraved by Franz Hogenberg and the text, with its descriptions of the history and additional factual information of the cities, was written by a team of writers and edited by Georg Braun. The work contained 546 bird-eye views and map views of cities and towns from all over the world. It gave graphic representation of the main features of the illustrated cities and towns, including the buildings and streets. Although the ordinary buildings are stylized, the principal buildings are reproduced from actual drawings created on location. The principal landmarks and streets can still be recognized today. In addition, the maps often include the heraldic arms of the city, the nature of the surrounding countryside, the important rivers, streams and harbors, even depicting stone bridges, wooden pontoons, flat-bottomed ferries, ships and working boats, wharves and jetties, as well as land-based activities, including horsemen, pedestrians, wagons, coaches, and palanquins. Small vignettes are often included which illustrate the trade, occupations and habits of the local inhabitants, such as agriculture, paper-making and textiles, as well as local forms of punishment, such as gibbets, wheels, floggings etc. Large figures dressed in their local costume are often presented out of proportion in the foreground. The aim of the authors was to give as much information as possible in a pleasing visual form. They succeeded in creating maps that were both informative and decorative works of art. The atlas is a wonderful glimpse of life in medieval Europe.

Georg Braun (1541-1622) was German Catholic cleric who was born and who died in Cologne, Germany. He was the principal editor of 'The Civitates Orbis Terrarum', acquiring the tables, hiring the artists, and composing the texts. Abraham Ortelius, whose Theatrum Orbis Terrarum of 1570 was the first atlas of maps ever published, assisted Braun in his compilation of the details and maps for the atlas. The Civitates was intended as a companion for the Ortellius' Theatrum, as suggested by the similarity in the titles. Braun was the only survivor of the original team to live to see the publication of last volume (VI) in 1617.

Franz Hogenberg (1535-1590) was a Flemish and German painter, engraver, and mapmaker. He was born in Mechelen (also known as Malines) in Flanders, the son of an engraver. After being expelled from Antwerp by the Duke of Alva, he moved to London and then eventually to Cologne, Germany, where he met Georg Braun and Abraham Ortellius. He engraved most of the plates for Ortelius's Theatrum and the majority of those in the Civitates. Many believe that he was responsible for originating the Civitates project.

Over a hundred of different artists and cartographers, the most significant of whom was Antwerp artist Georg (Joris) Hoefnagel (1542-1600), engraved the copper-plates of the Civitates from drawings. He not only contributed most of the original material for the Spanish and Italian towns but also reworked and modified those of other contributors. After Hoefnagel's death his son Jakob continued the work for the Civitates.