1507 World Map
Martin Waldseemüller
Universalis cosmographia secunda Ptholemei traditionem et Americi Vespucci aliorum que lustrations
[Strasbourg?]: 1507
Geography and Map Division (142)
FEATURED HIGHLIGHT - 1507 World Map
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.