(An intermittent series introducing well known maps)
Northern Europe is experiencing a Renaissance in intellectual pursuits.
The Printing Press is expanding access to books, woodcuts and maps to the general population.
Maximilian I is the Holy Roman Emperor and a supporter of the Arts & Sciences.
Nicolaus Copernicus is developing Heliocentrism.
Martin Luther is ordained in the Augustinian Order.
Henry VII is King of England and founder of the Tudor dynasty.
Albrecht Durer, Leonardo da Vinci and Rafael are painting.
Niccolo Machiavelli is head of the Florentine militia.
Martin Waldseemuller publishes a book & 2 maps–a set of globe gores and a world map.
In 1507, the Duke of Lorraine, Rene II, is patron to the Gynmasium Vosagense in Saint-Die, France. He is very interested in geography and encourages the scholars to collect foreign books and maps–especially from Italy, Spain & Portugal. The Gynmasium Vosagense have recently set up a printing press and run a book shop.
Born in Germany, Martin Waldseemuller had moved to Saint-Die around 1505. He is a scholar and a cartographer. Joining with Matthias Ringmann and others, they plan an ambitious project. They want to write a critical Latin edition of Ptolemy’s Geographia and then print the book and maps. The work goes very slowly as the scholars compare several other maps and an abridged account of Amerigo Vespucci’s four voyages. By 1507, the text for the Ptolemy edition is still not finished, although it is possible that the maps are ready for printing.
However, Martin Waldseemuller has been occupied with other projects. He publishes a book: “Cosmographiae Introductio” to accompany the world wall map: “Universalis Cosmographia Secundum Ptholomaei Traditionem et Americi Vespucci Alioru{m} que Lustrationes” (A drawing of the whole earth following the tradition of Ptolemy and the travels of Amerigo Vespucci and others). It is printed on 12 separate sheets. 18 x 24 inches each using wood block plates. When fully assembled, it measures over 4 ft x 8 ft. Over 1000 copies are printed, but only 1 copy survives.
Around 10 years later, Johannes Schoner (geographer and mathematician) acquires the copy. He places the copy in a folio with other maps for study. The folio stays for years in his library.
Over 300 years pass, and in 1901, the Jesuit priest Josef Fischer finds the portfolio copy in the castle library of Prince Waldburg-Wolfegg in Germany. He has been investigating public and private European libraries looking for early maps about Viking travels, but is familiar with the “Cosmographiae Introductio” This is one of the most exciting discoveries in the history of cartography.
In 1903, the Library of Congress’ Geography and Map Division is able to get a facsimile of the 1507 map. They express continuing interest in purchasing the map. And in 1907, a London bookseller secures the right to sell the 1507 map and a later Waldseemuller map (“The Carta Marina”) also in the portfolio. Nothing happens. Two world wars and the cold war will pass before negotiations for the sale begin.
Prince Johannes Waldberg-Wolfegg, while conversing with James H. Billington (Librarian of Congress) and others in 1992, said that he was willing to sell the 1507 Waldseemuller map. Ten million dollars later, with permission of the German National Government and the Baden-Wurttemberg State Government and a successful fundraising campaign (both public & private), the United States is its new home.
In 2003, the 1507 Waldseemuller map of the world came to Washington, where it is on permanent display in the Pavilion of the Discoverers in the Thomas Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress.
So, why is this such an interesting story?
1st–It is a beautiful map. Using the heart-shaped projection, it shows the whole world known to Northern Europe in 1507. Two small inset maps show the East & West hemispheres. There is explanatory text and wind cherubs. And drawings of two men at the top: Ptolemy on the left and Amerigo Vespucci on the right.
2nd–As explorers returned to Europe, the map reflected their discoveries and challenged the old Ptolemy vision of the world. In many ways, it looks remarkably close to present day mapping with a western continent surrounded by water.
3rd–The western continent is given the name “America” for the 1st time in honor of Amerigo Vespucci. Although Waldseemuller changed his mind about the name in a later 1513 edition, both the 1507 book and map were widely disseminated and “America” was eventually accepted.