New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-07-07
THE DEsTE NAP or THE AMERICAN COAST

Paris June iG Letter On The Boston Adrerttser:
| had the pleasure, yesterday, OF examining
the fac sinle winch Mr. Henry arsse has made or tue
remarkable map discovered by him IN the archives of
the D'Este family in Modena, which answers so decl-
OF America and opens for solution so many ones.
The whole is OF the world beautifully drawn
resources OF French printers In cOors, has repro
duced all that part OF II which illustrates tue Atlantic
ocean and It's sbores This Is In the best style ofts
day-witn vegaut illumination gliding aud oolors, with
ona PICTURES and full explanations In the Portu-
interest and carries this interest far that
carries Corteeas discoveries at the mouth of the Sc
denarcaton the meridian OF sixty miles west OF Cape
Verd The size the Atlantic part Of the map OF which
haps four square, more The date OF the map Is
perfectly fixed BY letter accompanying H. which shows
that IL was sent Modena In 1902, TO Hercules dEse,
by Cantino, his agent In Lisbon. Cantino tells how
much he paid for having It executed.
Its interest for students OF our history springs from
the fact that this map, drawn up more than ten
years after Columbus sailed, before Ponce de Icons
discovery OF Florida, long before VeraZzanos pre-
tended discovery OF coast there appears Florida,
well drawn out, evidently from knowledge and TO the
nortn and east Florida the OF the United States
shall describe the coast 10 those OF your readers
who acquainted with the early maPs by SAYING tna,
on the maps In the various editions OF Ptoemy puDshed
fret half OF the sixteenth century us evidently
the origin OF those maps. The large woodcut map OF
1913 which has been often reproduced b Tor instance
rough copy OF TINS In every particular Even the ar,
the with the western line here The names
the se yer O coreeeSs
land to ho east OF meridian OF demarcatons the same
These indications In the maps which may speak OF for
convenience AS the Ptolemy series, now obtain new
i'm pOrtance for II appears that they we're eon
nscted with knowledge OF Florida, not borrowed from
Ponce de Icons voyage but from some earlier adven-
turers. IL Ia Impossible 10 apply here Mr. steyenss
Ingenious suggestion, that tho pmakerswith white
paper before teusupp0sed that they were drawing In
the coast Asia when they the frat rough line
OF the United States For at the extreme east OF TINS
whele map, there IL an independent coast or ASIA
wrourh out, not simply from Marco Polo's map, but
from such information Portugal had thus early picked
up In the East from her own expeditionsand Irom Ma
and Chinese traders The coast OF country Is
suitoisnty undetermined. Tho which tamil
lar 10 studeDts-which later geography blotted out
appea ar here frst time There Ia no Chesapeake
Bay Cape Hatteras. North River no Long Island,
no Nantucket tolerable Cape Cod may be invented
by an imaginative mind.
Mr. Harsse read paper on the subject before the In
stltute Oh Friday week which contained the results
which viii appear In his forthcoming volume. He sup
poses that spite all prohibitions independent voy
agers followed Columbus aud made their own discoveries
Naturally bese discoveries OF theirs would be made pub
lie IN Portugal easily than IN Spain. 1t curious
circumstance that the national desire 10 secure Corte
reals discoveries In Portugal leaves here an Immense
gap of ocean between newfoundland aud Labrador OF
the northern parts of the United states ol
the vest