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Fall semester seminar & topic in fall 2008 Winter/spring short-term seminars
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What
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The Newberry's collections Maps Maps are works of art as well as historic artifacts. The Newberry has a rich map collection, from the earliest atlas to the middle of the 20th century. They tell stories of politics, culture, conquest, and science. (Click on the pictures to see larger versions.) |
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Right: Map (1482), based on Ptolemy's design. This is the first known printed atlas; this double-face opening shows a map of the world and images of faces representing the winds. |
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Left: Portuguese Portolan Atlas, attributed to Sebastiio Lopes (c. 1566) (This page shows the first known map of Brazil.) |
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| The Lopes world atlas of c. 1566, though partly unfinished and unsigned by its author, has been described as "one of the most beautiful specimens of early Portuguese cartography." Consisting of 24 sheets it is a maritime survey of the expanded world known to Portuguese chart makers in the mid-16th century. The Lopes atlas shows the multiple meanings that can be understood from cartography. At one level, the maps -- complete with their latitudinal scales, strings of place names, compass roses, and networks of direction lines -- have been read as a scientific synthesis of Portuguese maritime knowledge. One of the Newberry's greatest cartographic treasures. | ||
| Images courtesy of the Newberry Library for study and promotional purposes only. | ||
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Library Go to: American history & literature ... American West ... European history & literature ... Maps ... Music |
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