First map to mention America on display
Rare document: A photo of Martin Waldseemuller's 1507 world map seen on display in the Library of Congress during a media preview in Washington, DC, last Wednesday. The map is the first document on which the name "America" appears. Picture: AFP
Friday, December 14, 2007
A 500-YEAR-OLD map of the world that is the first to mention the name "America" was set to go on permanent display yesterday at the Library of Congress in Washington.
Often dubbed the birth certificate of America, the map was drafted in 1507 by German monk Martin Waldseemller in the tiny village of St Die, in what is now the French province of Lorraine.
Five-hundred copies of the map were made at the time, but the only one that has withstood the passage of the centuries is the one that began a new life in the New World yesterday.
The historic map had been carefully preserved by a German princely family, who kept it in their castle library for nearly 400 years.
It was rediscovered in 1901, and sold to the Library of Congress in 2003 for US$10 million ($14.5 million).
"It's the first map to depict a separate and full western hemisphere with the two oceans that will become the Atlantic and Pacific, and it's the first document of any kind on which the name America appears," John Hebert, head of the geography and map division at the Library of Congress told reporters.
The map, which measures 2.32m x 1.20m) is made up of 12 panels.
It sits in the Library of Congress behind a sheet of laminated, tempered, non-reflective glass for protection.
The accuracy with which the map portrays the Americas still surprises experts.
"It's 80 per cent correct," Hebert said. "At the equator, the map is only within a 70-mile margin of error."AFP
Often dubbed the birth certificate of America, the map was drafted in 1507 by German monk Martin Waldseemller in the tiny village of St Die, in what is now the French province of Lorraine.
Five-hundred copies of the map were made at the time, but the only one that has withstood the passage of the centuries is the one that began a new life in the New World yesterday.
The historic map had been carefully preserved by a German princely family, who kept it in their castle library for nearly 400 years.
It was rediscovered in 1901, and sold to the Library of Congress in 2003 for US$10 million ($14.5 million).
"It's the first map to depict a separate and full western hemisphere with the two oceans that will become the Atlantic and Pacific, and it's the first document of any kind on which the name America appears," John Hebert, head of the geography and map division at the Library of Congress told reporters.
The map, which measures 2.32m x 1.20m) is made up of 12 panels.
It sits in the Library of Congress behind a sheet of laminated, tempered, non-reflective glass for protection.
The accuracy with which the map portrays the Americas still surprises experts.
"It's 80 per cent correct," Hebert said. "At the equator, the map is only within a 70-mile margin of error."AFP
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