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Colorful replica of a map of the world, created ca. 1611, shows the state of
geographic knowledge of that time. The coastlines of the continents are recognizably
close to the real world as we know it now, with the west coast of North America
perhaps the least well-known at the time; California, for example, is shown
as an island, and the Alaskan-Canadian coastline shows no detail.
The margins are decorated with illustrations of historical and mythological
figures, with captions in Latin. The map itself is decorated with the usual
sailing ships and sea creatures one expects to see in maps of this era. |
