Oldest Map of the New World

Old globe Cartographers may have identified the oldest known globe depicting the New World, according to a study published last week (S. Missinne The Portolan issue 87, 8–24; 2013). The engraved, grapefruit-sized orb (pictured), which is made of fused ostrich egg halves, depicts geographical details from early European explorers in a style reminiscent of Leonardo da Vinci. Carbon dating and other analyses date it to 1504. The copper Lenox Globe, dated to 1510 and previously considered to be the oldest showing the New World, may in fact be modelled on this globe, which was discovered in a 2012 London map fair.

The Portolan, journal of the Washington Map Society