Physikalischer Atlas oder Sammlung von Karten, auf denen die hauptsächlichsten Erscheinungen der anorganischen und organischen Natur nach ihrer geographischen Verbreitung und Vertheilung bildlich dargestellt sind. 2 Bde. (8 Abtheilungen: Meteorologie - Hydrographie - Geologie - Magnetismus - Pflanzengeographie - Geographie der Thiere - Anthropographie - Ethnographie)

Gotha: Julius Perthes, 1845. Berghaus, Heinrich (1797-1884). Physikalischer Atlas. 20 fascicles, including two text “Lieferungen.” 90 hand-colored engraved maps. Gotha: Justus Perthes, 1838-48. 19 of the 20 fascicles in original blue wrappers with printed labels (3 with spines repaired), wrapper of one of the text fascicles renewed; preserved in recent portfolio with 19th-century manuscript label tipped to the front cover. Several wrappers creased, minor fraying, ink stains in fasc. 12, but on the whole a very good copy. Stamp of Denmark’s Royal Garnison Library in all fascicles and on the cover label. First Edition, in the Rare Original Fascicles. Berghaus’s (truncated) Physikalischer Atlas, issued in parts between 1838 and 1848, was the first thematic atlas, as well as the first “to portray the physical geography of the world” (Library of Congress). A thematic atlas is one whose maps add features that can be shown in graphic form—such as language distribution or average annual temperature—to the geographical data contained in traditional maps. While examples of thematic maps had been published before (including Halley’s 1686 map of trade winds and Zimmermann’s 1777 map showing the worldwide distribution of mammals), Berghaus’s atlas marks “the first time in an atlas [that] different physical aspects of Earth were represented graphically in maps, supported with tables of observed data” (“Landmark thematic atlases”). Berghaus’s thematic atlas is divided into seven subsections: Meteorology, magnetism, hydrography, geology, plant geography, animal geography and ethnography. It was originally planned to complement Cosmos: A Sketch of a Physical Description of the Universe (1845-62) by Berghaus’s longtime friend Alexander von Humboldt, whose works were among the first to exploit the power of the biogeographical map. “Berghaus was no doubt influenced by Humboldt’s fondness for biogeography, and there is evidence that Humboldt encouraged Berghaus to produce thematic maps. Berghaus teamed up with the noted map printer Justus Perthes, and he 1838 he began issuing his first thematic maps. By 1845, he had enough maps to publish the first volume of his Physikalischer Atlas. The second volume appeared three years later. Together, the two volumes contain 90 thematic maps, divided into a number of groups, depending on whether the information mapped was geological, meteorological, botanical, ethnographic, etc. Seldom has a discipline had a richer, more glorious beginning than the thematic atlas had in Berghaus” (Ashworth). This copy bears the stamp of Denmark’s Royal Garnison Library, a military library founded in 1785. Ashworth, William B., “Heinrich Berghaus.” The Linda Hall Library, 11 Mar. 2022; accessed 5 Mar. 2025 (web). Landmark Thematic Atlases,” Princeton University, The Trustees of Princeton University; accessed 5 Mar. 2025 (web). Research Guides: Library of Congress Geography & Maps: An Illustrated Guide: Thematic Atlases.” Thematic Atlases - Library of Congress Geography & Maps: An Illustrated Guide - Research Guides at Library of Congress; accessed 5 Mar. 2025 (web). . (Inventory #: 44689)