Beautiful old-coloured city plan of London from the 1598 German edition of Sebastian Munster’s “Cosmographia…”, an encyclopaedic description of the world first published in 1544. It is a very close copy of Braun & Hogenberg’s 1572 plan of the city but slightly reduced in size and printed using the woodblock method. London is shown from Clerkenwell in the north, to Wapping in the east just past the Tower, with Southwark in the south and Westminster in the west. On the south-bank of the Thames both bull baiting and bear baiting arenas are shown, and noble residents of the city are shown in the foreground in period dress. The descriptive notes in German on either side of the four city residents provide details on London’s seven principal gates. This is the first state of Munster’s plan, which can be identified by the page numbers at the top lviii and lix, while later editions in 1614 and 1628 change to 94 and 95 and 84 and 85, respectively. A description of London appears verso in German. Other than a guide pin-hole in each of the centre top and bottom blank margins, a lovely example of a very early map of London in excellent condition. 29 cm x 37 cm