Philipp Cluver, Germaniae antiquae libri tres (Leiden: Louis Elzevir, 1616)

A classical depiction of the barbarian, wearing little but a head-dress and wielding a club, from a volume on the ancient Germans by Philipp Cluver (1580-1622). Originally from Gdansk, Cluver had travelled widely as a soldier before he settled in Leiden, where his Introductio in universam geographiam (1624) became a standard geographical textbook and made him a major figure in the development of the modern study of geography. His use of historical and classical authors in approaching the subject can be seen in this particular illustration.

Gift of John Thompson.