The World of Gerard Mercator, The Mapmaker who Revolutionised Georgraphy
Language: English
Published by HarperCollins Publishers, London, 2004
- First Edition
- Hardcover
- Used

Seller: The Print Room, Cockernhoe nr Luton, United KingdomThe Print Room
AbeBooks seller since November 2, 2010
Condition: Used - Near fine
£ 8.00
Quantity: 1 available
Add to basketItem description from seller
First edition, first impression with '1' on copyright page. Some very slight edge wear to top and bottom of jacket and spine, suspicion of bruising to top corners, not price clipped (£16.99), no inscriptions, internally clean tight and square, overall a vg++ copy. 291pp, illustrated. In' Mercator' Andrew Taylor chronicles both the story of a great astronomer and mathematician, who was condemned to death as a heretic and the history of that most fascinating conjunction of science and art, the drawing of maps. Gerard Mercator was born in Flanders in 1512. In addition to creating accurate globes of the earth and the stars, he was the first person to use latitude and longitude for navigation and he created the most used map of all time, Mercator's Projection is still the standard view of the world, the one we all envisage when we think of a map of the globe. Simply finding the best solution to the impossible challenge of reproducing the spherical world on a flat sheet of paper was a considerable achievement in itself – something geographers and map-makers had been trying to do for centuries, but Mercator also created the map of the world that would form the basis of the modern age, an image of the continents for the common man. Until Mercator's Projection, maps offered a pictorial encyclopaedia to an illiterate world, and that world stretched far beyond the knowledge and travels of most mapmakers. It is this evolution of mapmaking from art to science that forms the backdrop to the story of Mercator, from the days of Herodotus and Strabo when fabulous creatures were supposed to inhabit the fringes of the world to the great mappae mundi of Hereford and Ebsdorf. The Greek geographer Pytheas claimed to have visited the far north of Britain to establish the limits of the habitable world, but further north, he claimed that the earth, air and sea coalesced into a jellyfish like gelatinous suspension which made life impossible. 'Mercator' promises to be a fascinating history for the general reader, describing as it does how our world view came into being.…
Seller Inventory # 009082
- Title
- The World of Gerard Mercator, The Mapmaker who Revolutionised Georgraphy
- Author
- Taylor, Andrew
- Publisher
- HarperCollins Publishers, London
- Publication year
- 2004
- Condition
- Near Fine
- Dust jacket
- Near Fine
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Language
- English
- ISBN 10
- 0007100809
- ISBN 13
- 9780007100804
- Illustrator
- Jacket after Franz Hogenberg
- Edition
- 1st Edition
- Printing
- 1st Printing
- Dimensions
- 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall
The story of the greatest map-maker of all time.
‘Geographie and Chronologie I may call the Sunne and the Moone, the right eye and the left, of all history’
In Mercator, Andrew Taylor chronicles both the story of a great astronomer and mathematician, who was condemned to death as a heretic, and the history of that most fascinating conjunction of science and art: the drawing of maps.
Gerard Mercator was born in Flanders in 1512. In addition to creating accurate globes of the earth and the stars, he was the first person to use latitude and longitude for navigation and he created the most-used map of all time: Mercator’s Projection is still the standard view of the world, the one we all envisage when we think of a map of the globe. Simply finding the best solution to the impossible challenge of reproducing the spherical world on a flat sheet of paper was a considerable achievement in itself – something geographers and map-makers had been trying to do for centuries, but Mercator also created the map of the world that would form the basis of the modern age, an image of the continents for the common man.
Until Mercator’s Projection, maps offered a pictorial encyclopaedia to an illiterate world, and that world stretched far beyond the knowledge and travels of most mapmakers. It is this evolution of mapmaking from art to science that forms the backdrop to the story of Mercator, from the days of Herodotus and Strabo when fabulous creatures were supposed to inhabit the fringes of the world to the great mappae mundi of Hereford and Ebsdorf. The Greek geographer Pytheas claimed to have visited the far north of Britain to establish the limits of the habitable world; but further north, he claimed that the earth, air and sea coalesced into a jellyfish-like gelatinous suspension which made life impossible.
Mercator promises to be a brilliantly readable and absolutely fascinating history for the general reader, describing as it does how our world-view came into being.
"Synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author
Andrew Taylor spent five years as a reporter and news editor in Dubai, contributing articles to The Times, Spectator and Sunday Telegraph. His last book , God’s Fugitive (HarperCollins 1999) was highly-acclaimed.
"About the title" may belong to another edition of this title.
The Print Room
Cockernhoe nr Luton, United Kingdom
AbeBooks seller since November 2, 2010
Shipping rates from United Kingdom to U.S.A.
| Item | 14 to 45 business days | 5 to 10 business days |
|---|---|---|
| First item | £ 25.00 | £ 30.00 |
Payment methods
Store description
Old and rare books, watercolours and prints.
Specialty
Historical biography, History of art, Art reference, History of Road Transport, Modern first editions, Books signed by the authorSeller's business information
The Print Room
United Kingdom
Terms of sale
Alison Balfour-Lynn
Dog Kennel Farm
Lilley nr Luton
N. Herts
LU2 8LQ
info@putteridgebury.com
07778 517486
TBA
Right of withdrawal
If you are a consumer you can withdraw from the contract in accordance with the following. Consumer means any natural person who is acting for purposes which are outside his trade, business, craft or profession.
Information regarding the right of withdrawal
Statutory right to withdraw
You have the right to withdraw from this contract within 14 days without giving any reason.
The withdrawal period will expire after 14 days from the day on which you acquire, or a third party other than the carrier and indicated by you acquires, physical possession of the last good or the last lot or piece.
To exercise the right of withdrawal, electronically fill in and submit a clear statement on our website, under "My Purchases" in "My Account". We will communicate to you an acknowledgement of receipt of such a withdrawal on a durable medium (e.g. by e-mail) without delay.
To meet the withdrawal deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right of withdrawal before the withdrawal period has expired.
Effects of withdrawal
If you withdraw from this contract, we will reimburse to you all payments received from you, including the costs of delivery (except for the supplementary costs arising if you chose a type of delivery other than the least expensive type of standard delivery offered by us).
We may make a deduction from the reimbursement for loss in value of any goods supplied, if the loss is the result of unnecessary handling by you.
We will make the reimbursement without undue delay, and not later than 14 days after the day on which we are informed about your decision to withdraw from this contract.
We will make the reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of such reimbursement.
We may withhold reimbursement until we have received the goods back, or you have supplied evidence of having sent back the goods, whichever is the earliest.
You shall send back the goods or hand them over to The Print Room, Cockernhoe nr Luton, United Kingdom, +44 7778517486, without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days from the day on which you communicate your withdrawal from this contract to us. The deadline is met if you send back the goods before the period of 14 days has expired. You will have to bear the direct cost of returning the goods. You are only liable for any diminished value of the goods resulting from the handling other than what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods.
Exceptions to the right of withdrawal
The right of withdrawal does not apply to:
- The delivery of newspapers, journals or magazines with the exception of subscription contracts; and
- The supply of digital content which is not supplied on a tangible medium (e.g. on a CD or DVD) if you accepted when you placed your order that we could start to deliver it, and that you could not withdraw once delivery had started.
Shipping terms
Shipping costs are based on books weighing 2.2 LB, or 1 KG. If your book order is heavy or oversized, we may contact you to let you know extra shipping is required.