The Erdapfel Globe

Through the wonders of twitter I came across a fabulous bit of map history: the Erdapfel (German for Earth Apple), sometimes called the Globe of Martin Behaim. This is possibly the oldest surviving globe in the world and it was made in Nuremberg in 1492, the year Columbus sailed.

Here's a picture of it taken from this site:

There's a lot that's amazing about this map. For one, the creator of the map was quite well traveled for a person living in the late 15th Century. He personally visited Portugal and western Africa. He therefore received some of his knowledge for this globe first hand.

The globe also shows an empty expanse between the western part of Europe and the far east. That said, the map maker used some of the same sources as Columbus, or at the very least, he agreed with the Italian explorer that the world was round. 

The map contains some beautiful illustrations, like this huge whale and boats:

It also contains a great many inaccuracies, as can be imagined. Most notably, perhaps, Japan is further north than shown on this map. Malaysia is shown as a large peninsula and the shape of Africa is incorrect including the shape of Madagascar which is shown as north of Zanzibar.

Anyone who really wants to get into the fine details of this map can take a look at this very comprehensive history here, or this shorter summary, here.

Anyone who wants to see the globe, would have to go to the Germanic Museum in Nuremberg. It seems that in 2011 there was an effort to have the globe digitized, but I can't find any place online where it's viewable.

In all cases, this is an amazing piece of world history and map history and a real, visual time capsule of European understanding of the world at a time contemporary to Columbus.

6 Things That Make Monte's 16th Century Planisphere One of the Coolest Maps

I recently came across this article about a map from 1587 that has so many fascinating elements, it's hard to know where to start, and impossible to imagine someone not being fascinated by it.

1) First, the map is huge. It's comprised of 60 pages which are to be arranged in a circle, adding up to a 10 foot by 10 foot map.

2) Second, the map has a unique perspective, looking at the world from the Arctic down. Indeed, the north pole itself is shown as being covered by some sort of landmass, and Canada's Arctic listed as new, unknown lands.

3) Third, it seems, little is known about the mapmaker himself. A quote from the article:

Historians know some basic details about the cartographer who created the map, Urbano Monte (1544-1613), a nobleman who lived in Milan, in northern Italy. When he was 35, Monte married 18-year-old Margarita Niguarda, and they had four sons and one daughter. Because of his family's status and affluence, Monte didn't have to work. Rather, he spent his time collecting books for his renowned library and pursued scholarly interests...

It's amazing to me to think of this man of great wealth and leisure choosing to pass his time this way, collecting information about the world and embarking on creating such a massive map.  Another fascinating detail is that the mapmaker met with the first ever official Japanese diplomatic mission to Europe. It's wonderful to imagine that scene. In a world where Japanese and Europeans may have been alien to one another, how would they have communicated? What subjects might they have discussed? How would they have regarded one another?

4) Fourth, the mythology of the map is stunning. It's filled with sea creatures, strange beasts and mermaids. Why did the mapmaker include these things? Did he think they were beautiful, was it simply common to have such things on maps, or did a European in the time of the Renaissance truly believe such creatures existed? There are some outstanding images of the map and these creatures here.

5) Fifth, this map takes a political and historic snapshot of the world at the time of its making. It lets us know who the various world leaders are. Tells us about them, shows us where their fleets have reached, all in addition to showing us where their territory extends, not only in lands that were known to Europeans at the time, but also in the Americas, only recently coming under exploration and European settlement.

6) Sixth, and finally, on a personal note, I love how this map depicts some places I know. For example, my home province of Quebec is referred to as the Province of Canada. Quebec City is labeled as Stadacona, it's original name, and my hometown on Montreal is known by its original name, Hochelaga. The Great Lakes do not appear on the map. This awesome site allows you to scroll around and zoom in on the map. I could spend hours...