The Map That Named America

In late May 2003 the Library of Congress completed the purchase of the only surviving copy of the first image of the outline of the continents of the world as we know them today, Martin Waldseemuller's monumental 1507 world map.

The map has been referred to in various circles as America's birth certificate and for good reason; it is the first document on which the name "America" appears. It is also the first map to depict a separate and full Western Hemisphere and the first map to represent the Pacific Ocean as a separate body of water. The purchase of the map concluded a nearly century-long effort to secure for the Library of Congress that very special cartographic document which revealed new European thinking about the world nearly 500 years ago.

Medium : 1 composite map assembled from 12 single sheets

Creator : Martin Waldseemuller, cartographer, 1470-1521?

Housed in the Geography and Map Division of the Library of Congress

Availability: Usually ships in 3-4 business days.

Product #: 21604012