Gallery · dc/jq086303k

Although published just as news of Christopher Columbus's discoveries was beginning to spread, this was the last noteworthy world map to be produced without any indication of the New World. This depiction…

In 1507, the same year that Martin Waldseemüller issued three works announcing the existence of a new continent which he named America, Johann Ruysch published a totally different world map. This rendition,…

As the first map printed in two colors, this is a monument to map printing. The place names in capital letters were printed in red ink by means of type set into the woodblocks. The decorative windheads,…

Waldseemüller may have had second thoughts about his 1507 proposal for naming the new continent "America." In 1513, he issued a fourth publication, a new edition of Claudius Ptolemy's Geographia. In it…

Although in his later publications Waldseemüller apparently retracted his depiction of a separate continent named America, other publishers quickly accepted his initial concept and imitated the shapes…

Bordonne, a cartographer and engraver working in Venice, was best known for his isolario or book of islands. First published in 1528, his book included 111 wood cut maps of islands. The world map, a simple…

Fine, an eminent French cartographer, created this unique double cordiform or heart-shaped projection, emphasizing the northern and southern hemispheres. The European, Asian and African continents were…

Decorated with sea monsters, mermaids, exotic animals, and cannibals, this wood cut map provides a marked contrast to the simplistic diagrams considered the earliest printed world maps. While the latter…

The Italian engraver and publisher, Antonio Salamanca, produced this finely engraved world map utilizing the double cordiform projection (heart shaped). Salamanca’s engraving was based on a 1538 map published…

Ruscelli's map of northeastern North America appeared in his 1561 edition of Claudius Ptolemy's "Geographia". The map was based on a smaller 1548 map by Giacomo Gastaldi, who took much of his information…

This map, among the earliest separate maps of northeastern North America, was primarily based on the voyages that were taken by Giovanni da Verrazano for the French in 1524. His discoveries confirmed…

Ortelius's map of the Americas was one of the most identifiable and most famous cartographic representations of the western hemisphere created during the Golden Age of Dutch Cartography. It enjoyed great…

Created during Shakespeare's lifetime, this map illustrates the late 16th-century concept of the world. Europe and the Mediterranean regions were well understood and confidently mapped, along with Africa…

Depicting the world as a cloverleaf, this cartographic curiosity reflects the traditional Medieval world view of three continents. Since it was published in the late-16th century long after the New World…

In 1587, Ortelius revised the map of the Americas that appeared in his Theatrum Orbis Terrarum. The changes found on this second edition are more extensive than generally thought, and are evidence of…

During the Golden Age of Dutch Cartography, many world maps were composed of two hemispheres, one for each of the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. However, this elaborately decorated world map projected…

As was fairly common during the Golden Age of Dutch Cartography, this map projects the world on two hemispheres - Eastern and Western. It was the first richly decorated map of the period and influenced…

Wytfliet's publication was essentially the first atlas devoted solely to the Americas. It consisted of a world map, 18 regional maps, and a text on the discovery, natural history, and geography of the…

1597 United States

Displaying the known world of the early 17th century as a triptych, with the map divided into three segments or gores, was very uncommon during the Golden Age of Dutch cartography. However, such a format…

Based on John Smith's 1614 voyage along the New England coast, this is the first printed map devoted specifically to this region. It is also the first to use the name “New England” for an area that had…

1624 United States

Alexander, one of the leading members of the Council of New England and the first Viscount of Canada, had been given large grants of land by James I and Charles I of England. He proposed a system for…

1625 United States

Reflecting the artistic style of his Dutch colleagues, English historian and mapmaker, John Speed, published this beautiful double hemisphere world map for inclusion in his world atlas. It was one of…

France's territorial claims in North America, which initially focused on the St. Lawrence River Valley and the Great Lakes, can be traced to Samuel de Champlain's explorations and trading activities in…

This elaborately decorated map is based on the 1614 explorations of Adrian Block, a fur trader working for the Dutch, who sailed from the north shore of Long Island to explore the southern coast of New…

1635 United States

John Smith's landmark map of New England, based on his 1614 voyage, was reissued and modified at least nine times. This is a later issue of the map which was published in the English edition of Gerard…

1635 United States

Covering the eastern portion of North America's coastline from North Carolina to Nova Scotia, this influential map appeared in English, German, Latin, Dutch, and French editions of world atlases published…

First published in 1606, Blaeu's world map is one of the foremost examples of ornamentation and decoration during the Golden Age of Dutch cartography. This map had a long life, and was reissued numerous…

From Woods' New England prospect (London : Printed by Iohn Dawson, and are to be sold by Iohn Bellamy at his shop, 1639).

1639 Massachusetts, United States

Ornately decorated and beautifully colored, this world map epitomizes the baroque style favored during the Golden Age of Dutch cartography. The map was prepared in 1630 by Henricus Hondius, who had joined…

Printed at the peak of the Golden Age of Dutch Cartography, this famous and influential map of the northeastern coast of North America was flattered by no fewer than twenty-seven copies published in Holland,…

1651 United States

This is an early re-issue of the influential map of northeastern North America, first published by Jan Jansson in 1651. While Visscher copied much of Jansson's original map, he did invert several decorative…

1655 United States

A rare map published in Colom's "Zee Atlas" is recognized as one of the first navigational charts of New Netherlands. The chart covers the North American coast line from Cape Hatteras on the southwest…

1656 United States

In attempting to compete with the Dutch production of nautical charts at the end of the 16th century, the British mathematician and hydrographer Edward Wright published a navigational guide entitled Certaine…

In this striking image, the world is portrayed on one full circle (or hemisphere), which is flanked by two half circles. This unusual geometrical configuration is embraced by a double-headed eagle. Realizing…

Compiled by an Englishman but published in Italy, this was the earliest printed sailing chart showing New England. It appeared in Dudley's marine atlas, which was the first such atlas made of charts drawn…

1661 United States

A foundation in the early history of the mapping of New England, this map is the first printed version of William Reed's original survey of 1665. The survey was commissioned by Massachusetts authorities…

1675 United States

Published in Seller's Atlas Maritimus, the earliest general marine atlas produced in England, this was the first English chart of New England waters. It clearly shows the northern navigation routes with…

1675 United States

This beautifully engraved and colored map represents an English version of the Jansson-Visscher series of maps of northeastern North America. Since it was published shortly after the expulsion of the…

1676 United States

Based on a 1665 survey by William Reed, this is the earliest map drawn, engraved and printed in North America. The survey was commissioned by the government of Massachusetts to justify the colony's northern…

1677 United States

Published by the leading Dutch producer of navigational aids, this chart of New England is unlike any other of the region. It was the only Dutch chart of the colony published in the 17th century. Near…

1683 United States

England's widening sphere of influence in eastern North America is reflected on a late 17th century map published in London. By this time, the British had extended their territorial claims from the original…

1685 United States

This is the first printed chart of Boston Harbor. It appeared only in the 1689 and 1698 editions of The English Pilot, The Fourth Book. Seller's publication became the most popular navigational manual…

1689 Massachusetts, United States

As an example of early English mapping of the British Colonies in North America, Browne's map shows the northeastern part of the continent from the St. Lawrence River to the Chesapeake Bay. Interestingly,…

1690 United States

Displayed here is a globe gore (segments of paper printed with map images and cut to fit over the globe's sphere) showing North America's northeast coast and the North Atlantic. The gore is the work of…

1697 United States

Recognized as the first 18th century map of New England, this map was used to illustrate Cotton Mather's famous history of the Bay Colony, "Magnalia Christi Americana: or the Ecclesiastical History of…

1702 United States

Depths shown by soundings.

1708 Massachusetts, United States

First published in 1689, John Thornton's chart of the north Atlantic seacoast illustrates the type of nautical charts available to navigators in the Fourth Book of the English Pilot, which was the standard…

1713 United States

Richly decorated in the tradition of Dutch cartography, this map extends from eastern Asia to western Europe but focuses on the Pacific Ocean and the Americas. It is attributed to Henri Abraham Chatelain,…

This pair of late-17th-century Dutch maps depicts the French and British colonies in northeastern North America extending from the Carolinas to Newfoundland. The map's central focus includes New England…

In 1720, London geographer and mapmaker, Herman Moll, published this map focusing on France's North American possessions. In a message below the title, he warned his British audience of French encroachment…

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