Old atlas breaks auction record

The Cosmographia is the latest atlas to be auctioned

A 529-year-old atlas set a new world record when it was sold at auction.

The Cosmographia fetched £2,136,000 - a record for an atlas - when it was auctioned at Sotheby's on Tuesday.

It was the latest item to be sold off from the Wardington Manor library, in Banbury, Oxon, to cover restoration costs of the fire-damaged property.

The rare book, which was saved by villagers, was bought by London dealer Bernard Shapero on behalf of a private collector.

Bidding for the book, which is based on the works of the second century geographer Ptolemy, started at £600,000.

In October last year, atlases from Wardington were sold at auction for more than £6m - with a rare Doria Atlas from 1570 fetching nearly £1.5m.

The atlases were saved from the flames by villagers in 2004

The atlases were assembled over half a century by Lord Wardington, who died in July 2005 at the age of 81.

The manor was badly damaged in a blaze in 2004.

Villagers saved the books by forming a human chain to get the collection out from the manor house during the fire.