Oronce Fine’s Cordiform map of the World, 1531
French map maker Oronce Fine prepared this early woodcut map of the world using a double cordiform (heart-shaped) projection. The body of water beyond the tip of South America is called the “Mare Magellanicum,” one of the first uses of navigator Ferdinand Magellan’s name in such a context. The geography of Central America reflects information acquired during the Spanish conquest of the region beginning in 1520. North America is still shown as connected to Asia, but the form of the east coast reflects information derived from Giovanni da Verrazzano’s Atlantic Coast voyage in the mid-1520s.
French map maker Oronce Fine prepared this early woodcut map of the world using a double cordiform (heart-shaped) projection. The body of water beyond the tip of South America is called the “Mare Magellanicum,” one of the first uses of navigator Ferdinand Magellan’s name in such a context. The geography of Central America reflects information acquired during the Spanish conquest of the region beginning in 1520. North America is still shown as connected to Asia, but the form of the east coast reflects information derived from Giovanni da Verrazzano’s Atlantic Coast voyage in the mid-1520s.