1542 Munster Map of America (first obtainable map of America: 1st State, 2nd Edition)

This is a superb example of Sebastian Münster's map of America, the first printed map of the Western Hemisphere. This map appeared in the second, 1542 printing of Münster's edition of Ptolemy's Geographia, preceded only by the 1540. As is to be expected for an early printing strike, the image is bold, sharp, and clear. This attractive and evocative map was broadly influential. Münster's Geographia was one of the earliest versions of Ptolemy's work to systematically include maps showing contemporary geographical knowledge, but the map's 1544 inclusion in Münster's magnum opus, Cosmographia Universalis would insure that for more than thirty years during the age of discovery, this map would provide the first glimpse of the New World to the literate European.

An Impressive Array of Firsts

In addition to being the first map to present North and South America as a continuous land mass, this was the first map to name the Pacific Ocean and the Straits of Magellan. It ranks among the earliest acquirable maps to show and name Japan (Zipangri, located near America.). It was also the first widely-disseminated map to reveal the discoveries of Verrazano and Cabot.

Speculative Geography

There being vast gaps in European scholars' knowledge of the Americas, Münster and any other geographer of his era had to fill in with speculation - leading to many of the unusual features. The wedge-like body of water bisecting North America was derived from interpretations of Verrazano's observations of the Carolina barrier islands and sounds beyond during his 1524 voyage. This so-called 'Sea of Verrazano' would also appear on Münster's world map. The Yucatan peninsula appears here as an island.

Revealing and Summarizing the Age of Discovery in the Americas

The Caribbean region was reasonably well understood: Cuba, Jamaica, St. Paul, Cozumel, Yucatan, Dominica, and Hispaniola appear roughly in their correct positions. The Castilian flag flies over Puerto Rico (unnamed on this state of the map) and the Portuguese flag appears off the coast of Brazil. These are a reference to the Treaty of Tordesillas, the agreement between Spain and Portugal determining which of the newly-discovered areas belonged to each kingdom. In North America, the Florida peninsula is recognizable, although the entire region of the southeast is identified as 'Terra Florida.' Further north, another territory, defined as Francisca, is identified - applying Verrazano's term for the lands his expedition surveyed. This appellation was in honor of Francis I, the French King who sponsored Verrazano's expedition. 'C. Britonum' is a reference to Cabot's expedition and is most likely Cape Breton. The nearby island of Corte Real is possibly 'Terra Nova do Bacalhau' (New Land of the Codfish) supposedly discovered in 1473 by the Portuguese navigator Joao Vaz Corte-Real.

South America is more recognizable. This map (tied with Münster's world map) is the first acquirable to name and show the Straits of Magellan. A lovely sailing ship in the Pacific is likely Magellan's flagship Victoria.

Catigara

Catigara, a city typically located in East Asia by Ptolemy, has here been relocated to the western coast of South America, near modern-day Peru. This development is consistent with the 1489 Martellus and the 1531 Oronce Fine maps. On the 1489, Catigara appears on the western coast of the 'Dragon's Tail' left over from Ptolemy's land bridge to Africa. Fine decided that the 'Dragon's Tail' appearing on earlier maps was the same land mass as the newly discovered South America and placed Catigara there accordingly. Münster completed that change, retaining Catigara while correctly mapping America and Asia as distinct continents.

Cannibals and Giants

Thanks to Vespucci's popular and sensational accounts of the New World, if scholars knew anything about South America it was that it was full of cannibals. Consequently, the region of Brazil is decorated with a primitive lean-to festooned with a human head and leg, labeled 'Canibali.' Patagonia is identified as 'Regio Gigantum' (the Kingdom of Giants) in reference to the ten-foot-tall giants reported by Magellan's survivors.

The Earliest Printed Map of the Pacific Ocean

As noted previously, this is the earliest printed map (tied with Münster's world map) to use the term 'Pacific' to describe the Ocean to the west of America. Munster most likely theorized that this ocean was an extension of Ptolemy's Indian Ocean - a fact also suggested by his placement of 'Catigara.' Into this largely unexplored ocean he introduces the Ins. Pdonum, according to Suarez, a corruption of Magellan's 'Ladroni' or 'Thieves' Island', today's Guam and Rota. Münster also identifies 'Calensuan,' which Suarez suggests is one of the islands visited by Magellan's crew after the man himself was slain on Cebu. Further north, an archipelago of 7448 islands surrounds 'Zipangri.' This is Japan, as referenced by Marco Polo. It is among the earliest appearances of Japan on a printed map, and in its first edition of 1540 predated any direct European contact with the island nation.

Publication History and Census

This map was printed for the second, 1542 edition of Münster's Geographia. The map is identical to that of the 1540 first edition, differing only in the typesetting of the title (the leaf motif appearing before the word 'Novae' and the lack of a comma after 'Insulae') and typographical changes to the verso (the two decorative blocks are interchanged, and the leaf motif here is reversed). With further typographical changes, the map remained in each edition of Geographia, of which the 1552 was the last. The map was also included in all editions of Munster's Cosmographia until 1578, after which the double-page maps of the long-lived work were replaced and updated. While the many editions of Geographia are well represented in institutional collections, OCLC lists thirty-seven copies dated 1542. Only one example of this 1542 state of the separate map is cataloged in OCLC, in the Boston Public Library.