Landmark atlas fetches record price at UK auction

LONDON, Oct 11 (Reuters) The first atlas ever printed became the most expensive ever sold at auction after it was bought in London for 2.1 million pounds (3.91 million dollars), auction house Sotheby's said.

The 1477 edition of Claudius Ptolemy's landmark atlas was bought by dealer Bernard Shapero on behalf of a private dealer.

The 2,136,000-pound price-tag dwarfed the previous record auction price of 1,464,000 pounds, paid for the ''Doria Atlas'' sold at Sotheby's in October 2005, the auctioneer said yesterday.

Attracting bidders from around the world, the Ptolemy atlas was part of a sale of works from the library of the late Lord Wardington, Sotheby's said in a statement.

Ptolemy was an influential astronomer and geographer, who is thought to have lived during the first and second centuries.

REUTERS DH RAI0646