Networked Nation

Jasper van Putten, Ph.D. (2015), Harvard University, is lecturer at Massachusetts College of Art and Design. His publications concern the production of knowledge through prints in the early modern period.

"This book is a significant, original, and beautifully executed contribution to the study of Renaissance culture in the German lands. In its meticulous reconstruction of Münster’s networks, the milieux and ambitions of the artists who worked on the city views, and the fate of city views across different texts and multiple editions, it brings together scholarship on humanism, publishing, dynastic rivalries, Swiss independence, and penmanship (among other things) into a legible set of relationships. This research then forms the basis for impressive and persuasive analyses of the city views themselves, amply demonstrating the case for their importance in identity formation and representation."Christine R. Johnson, Washington University, St. Louis"Jasper van Putten's fine book should reach a wide audience of historians, in particular anyone with an interest in cultural geography and the increasingly popular topic of the history of maps and knowledge. Van Putten’s clear and logical text is deeply researched throughout and provides strong analysis about the cultural significance of city views as portraits, often linked to a regional ruler and to civic identity, particularly for imperial cities."Larry Silver, University of Pennsylvania

• AcknowledgmentsList of IllustrationsList of TablesIntroduction: Networked Nation1 Sebastian Münster and His City Views2 City Portraits3 The Origins, Politics, and Economics of the City View4 Bishops vs. Bürger5 Ottheinrich’s View of Heidelberg6 Depicting Swiss Pride7 The Evolution of the City BookConclusion: New World, New OrderTablesAppendicesBibliographyIndex