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About This Object
The 1507
Universalis cosmographiae by Martin Waldseemüller is the first map to show the continents of the New World separated from Asia, revealing the Pacific Ocean. Often called the “Birth Certificate of America,” it is also the first map on which the name “America” appears. The only surviving copy, displayed here, is a masterpiece of woodblock printing and is modeled after the earlier world maps of second century geographer Claudius Ptolemy.
* Currently on Exhibit
Martin Waldseemüller. Universalis cosmographia secunda Ptholemei traditionem et Americi Vespucci aliorum que lustrations. [Strasbourg?]: 1507. Geography and Map Division, Library of Congress (142)
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