BREYDENBACH, Bernhard von (c.1440–1497). Civitas Iherusalem. From Peregrinatio in terram sanctam. Mainz: Erhard Reuwich, 24 May 1488.

The oldest printed map of Jerusalem, from the first Dutch edition. A native of Utrecht, the printer and engraver Erhard Reuwich accompanied Breydenbach on his pilgrimage to the Holy Land in the 1480s to provide illustrations for what would become the first printed travel book on the Holy Land. Reuwich produced his panoramic map of Jerusalem for the 1486 editio princeps of Breydenbach's Peregrinatio in terram sanctam in Latin. Over the next two years, Reuwich issued several vernacular editions, including the present first edition in his own native Dutch, using the same woodcut map of Jerusalem. Reuwich's view of Jerusalem was highly influential, as no other map would be augmented by original observations until Peter Laicksteen's journey of 1556. Nebenzahl, Maps of the Holy Land (1986), 21. Tishby (ed.), Holy Land in Maps (2001), pp. 80–81. ISTC HCR 3963; BMC I 44; BSB-Ink B-914; Bod-inc B-554; CIBN B-776; GW 5081; Goff B-1191; Klebs 220.4; Schramm XV p. 7; Schreiber 3633; ISTC ib01191000.

Woodcut map, three sheets joined together, overall 1268 × 287 on 1290 × 304mm sheet (scattered small repaired holes, chiefly around the previous folds, right edge soiled, margins reinforced, a 2.5-inch wide vertical strip near second fold is well-worn, toned, and neatly reinforced). Two pages of Dutch text on verso. Tipped to mat.

The toned 2.5 inch strip is supplied, either from a different edition or in old, expert facsimile. There is an approx. 3mm loss at two joins.