Introductionis in universam geographiam

From Britannica

Philipp Clüver, Latin Philippus Cluverius, Polish Filip Cluwer, (born 1580, Danzig [now GdaÅ„sk], Pol.â€"died Dec. 31, 1622, Leiden, Neth.), German geographer, a principal figure in the revival of geographic learning in Europe and the founder of historical geography.

After becoming a soldier and then traveling throughout most of Europe, Clüver in 1615 settled in Leiden, where the following year he was appointed geographus academicus ("academic geographer"), with an annual stipend. He approached geography through history and classical authors. Among his works the most important is Introductio in Universam Geographiam (1624; "Introduction to Universal Geography"). The first of its six vols deals in general with the Earth, but it is the remaining five on which his reputation rests. They contain short descriptions of countries and stress human and historical considerations. The Introductio remained a standard work through the mid-18th century.

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This volume is dated 1627, and is the second Elzevier edition (the first was 1624) and has "editio ultima prioribus emendatior" on the title page. However, no earlier editions can be currently located in the internet, and even Google books has this 1627 date as the earliest edition identified. Many later editions, e.g. 1629, 1640, 1660, etc., can be found, but there do not appear to be any earlier copies currently available. So even this second edition appears quite scarce.

And this copy is in quite good condition for its age, in a contemporary vellum binding, with occasional spotting and browning. Contains an engraved pictorial title, two foldout plates and one foldout table, all intact as described in Goldsmid, (see photos) (Willems 1426). 24mo. 373 pp. plus 9 pages of index not described in Goldsmid, but no unnumbered pages of tables.