[Portolan atlas of 9 charts and a world map, etc. Dedicated to Hieronymus Ruffault, Abbot of St. Vaast].
Summary
Manuscript, pen-and-ink and watercolor, on vellum.
Each double-page illumination (col. diagrs., col. maps) 21 x 29 cm. Compass rose on inside back cover.
"Maps 1, 2, and 10 show America. No. 1 shows the Gulf of California which Ulloa discovered in 1539. On the same map Yucatan is shown as an island, and the east and west coasts of North and South America are only partially shown. On no. 2, the east coasts of North and South America are shown in their entirety and the west coasts only partially. Clumps of trees in green and gold are shown on no. 1, near the Noluccas, and on no. 2, in the Brazilian region of South America. The oval world map (no. 10) shows Magellan's route around the world and a route from Spain to Peru. The 12 wind cherubs on this map are named." -- Ristow and Skelton, Nautical charts on vellum in the Library of Congress, 1977.
LC Nautical charts on vellum, 5
Rosenthal 1914, 1884
Ruge 1916, p. 17-18
Wagner 1931, 33
Skelton , 19
Available also through the Library of Congress Web site as a raster image.
Vault
The word portolan comes from the Italian adjective portolano, meaning "related to ports or harbors", or "a collection of sailing directions". Portolan charts are maps based on compass directions and estimated distances observed by the pilots at sea. They were first made in the 13th century in Italy, and later in Spain and Portugal where they considered to be state secrets. The English and Dutch found the description of Atlantic and Indian coastlines extremely valuable for their raiding, and later trading, ships. The oldest survived portolan is the Carta Pisana, dating from approximately 1296 and the oldest preserved Majorcan Portolan chart is the one made by Angelino Dulcert who produced a portolan in 1339.
Pre - 1600s maps, atlases and manuscripts
Ancient Maps from the Library of Congress. 13th -18th Century Maps.
The geography discoveries and the new printing techniques resulted in maps that can be cheaply produced. Since a globe remains the only accurate way of representing the spherical earth, and any flat representation resulted in distorted projection. In 1569, Mercator published a map of the world specifically intended as an aid to navigation. It used a projection now known by Mercator's name, though it has been used by few others before him, based on a system of latitude and longitude that dated back to Hipparchus. Mercator's projection greatly enlarged territories as they recede from the equator. The distortion of Mercator's projection is a benefit to navigators since Mercator achieves a matching scale for longitude and latitude in every section of the map. A compass course can be plotted at the same angle on any part of Mercator's map. As a result marine charts still use this projection. By the time of his death in 1595, Mercator has either published or prepared large engraved maps, designed for binding into volume form, of France, Germany, Italy, the Balkans, and the British Isles. Mercator's son issues the entire series under the title "Atlas": "Atlas sive Cosmographicae Meditationes." The name becomes the word for a volume of maps.
Collection - Antique Nautical Charts and Ephemera
Portolan nautical chartsCollection - Ancient Maps, pre- 1600
Ancient Maps from Library of Congress CollectionsCollection - Ancient Maps, Library of Congress
Ancient Maps from the Library of Congress. 13th -18th Century Maps.Collection - Maps XVI Century
16th Century Maps from various collections
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