Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Cornelius van Wytfliet

Cornelius van Wytfliet (1555-1597) was a cartographer from Brabant (a part of The Netherlands). In 1597 he published the atlas 'Descriptionis Ptolemaicae Augmentum', the first atlas devoted exclusively to the New World. It contains nineteen regional maps of North and South America.  Here is one of those maps:

Cornelius van Wytfliet: 'Norumbega et Virginia', 1607. 
This map was the most accurate map of the east coast until 1630.

It shows the east coast of North America from the North Carolina Outer Banks to Canada. It was created at a period just before a number of English and Dutch voyages explored and settled the coast.

No Long Island or Hudson River are shown. Because of the already notoriously dangerous Carolina Outer Banks and the rocky waters around New England and Cape Cod ships kept well away from these waters.

First Issue of the First Edition Of the First Atlas of the Americas

next episode: Alaska

1 comment:

  1. Absolutely beautiful map...and I love the cartographer's name. I had to keep trying to pronounce it. I think I got it finally.

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