MINT! Very Rare, and Very Sought After: Cosmographia Universalis, in immaculate Original Box, tissue and bolduc

Such a cheerful, as new gift, to lift the spirits of your loved one, presented as new, designed by Jan Bajtlik in 2019.

Scarf Condition: 10/10, care tag intact,  immaculate box, and only slightly creased tissue.

The following is taken from on-line vintage Hermes scarf expert ‘The Librain’:

“It is difficult to describe this complex pattern and do it full justice! Like Bajtlik’s design of the previous season, Animalopolis, the scarf is a riot of colour and activity.

“Cosmographia Universalis appears to have a river, or lake, in the centre surrounded by mountains, volcanoes, all kinds of amazing architecture and dreamlike, mythological landscapes. Amazing beasts and people move between trees and plants, boats glide across the water, fantastical creatures appear and Bajtlik’s dog sleeps peacefully amongst the riot. This scarf is such fun. Who could look at it without a smile?

“Look out for humour and surprises, I have already mentioned the dog. The famous Hermès horse and carriage appear on a bridge, water cascades from a horse’s mouth (horses are everywhere), a water snake (Nessie?) swims in the lake, people climb the mountains, squid fly out of a volcano! A peaceful moon looks down on it all. What else can you find? You could spend an hour looking at this scarf!”

Hermes writes:

“Sebastian Münster was a cartographer, historian, astronomer, mathematician and scholar of Hebrew. His work, Cosmographia Universalis, was first published in Germany in 1544 and became one of the most widely-read books of the 16th century.

“When Jan Bajtlik discovered an original edition of the book in a library in Poland, he was fascinated by its vision of a world made up of myths and legends. His scarf depicts an imaginary landscape that combines architecture with fauna and flora. Taking the seahorses, sea monsters and pyramids of the Cosmographia as his models, he creates a dreamlike world teeming with extraordinary beasts.”

Sebastian Münster (1488 – 1552) was a German cartographer and cosmographer. He also was a Christian Hebraist scholar who taught as a professor at the University of Basel. His well-known work, the highly accurate world map, Cosmographia, sold well and went through 24 editions. Its influence was widely spread by a production of woodcuts created of it by a variety of artists.

Jan Bajtlik is an illustrator, graphic designer, and typographer based in Warsaw. Alphadoodler, his first book, was awarded the international BolognaRagazzi Award for nonfiction. His illustrations have appeared in Time, the New York Times, and other major publications. He has a master’s degree from the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw and is a PhD candidate in the graphic-design department there.