The world's first-ever printed atlas, dating from 1477, has fetched a record price of 2.1 million pounds (3.9 million dollars) at auction at Sotheby's in London, REPORTED DPA. The auction house said Wednesday that the price achieved for a 1477 edition of Claudius Ptolemy's landmark atlas smashed the previous record of 1.4 million pounds paid for the Doria Atlas, sold at Sotheby's in October, 2005. The Ptolemy atlas was bought by London dealer Bernard Shapero on behalf of a private collector, Sotheby's said. The sale attracted bidders from around the world, competing for "some of the finest atlases remaining in private hands," a spokesman said.
