Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1904-02-25
HOW AMERICA WAS NAMED
Romance of Photographed Dis.
;overy.
Finding of the Long-LOst WuIdscc mul-
Ter Mnp, which Il the First Hearing
the Name "Amcrica"-An Insignifl-
cant Society which LEFT ItS Mark
on Geography Tor An Time.

work long awaited by ecographers
| has at last been brought to II SUE
cessfui termination. and Henry Stevens
Son n stiles of London are sending
| TO American subscribers copies OF the
fac-similcs of the recently discovered
! Naldsecmuler maps of tJ7 and 1916, says
| Inc loston Transcript. Tho great in
| terest OF photographers in these reproduce
ions lies in the fact that the early
| Waldscemulcr map is the FIRST which
| bears the name America as applied to the
! New World. The finding of these mans
Is Il romance of biblogra ply, il being the
| most important contribution to our know
ledge of the cartorraphy Of the sixteenth
century since the discovery of the La
! 'os1 chart some fifty years ago Tho
discovery was made by Gyman scholar
| Professor Joseph Fischer. author OF 'The
discoveries of the Norsemen IN Amcri-
ca with Special reference to Their
Cartosraphical presentation" publish.
ed IN an English translation by Hcr,v
n. stevens of London in December Of
1909. While Professor Fischer wns searrh-
my in the library of Prince Waldburg
ut Wolfogr Castle for materials for that
work. he suddenly nnd UNEXPECTEDLY
came across an old volume containing
strange maps 1t must have been a
proud moment for the professor when he
irst looked upon ana identified Waldse".
muilor's long lost map of 1901 sun
greater mnst have been his ioy and as
constituent when he fouuG in the Same
volume second gigantic map, dated
l'ls. hitherto also absolutely unknown
Before giving short description Of
these maps 1t may be as well to briefly
r"canitulate the previously known facts
rcl1tire to the map OF 1911 on Arm p.
I,v, al,
cant little town Of 81. bic in the Noagrs
FOUNTAINS Il small geographical treatise
"nlch las left its mark upon the world
i"' all tim. For in this little book it
was first suggested that the then lately
discovered fourth part Of the world should
y" called "AmcriCa because AmcrIcus
'\ "spucius) discovered it, The book
is question: entitled "Cosmographiac
Introduct'o,' was the first production of
IN" printing press which had Only inst
before been erected in the town. rhn
work itself was projected and published
under the auspices Of the GNmnasc Voc
glch. society for the cultivation Of the
arts and sciences. which had been cstab-
'ished ut st Die by Cualticr Lud about
1891 under the patronago o. Rene the
rciening Duke of Lorraine AMONGST
the members of the GNmnaso at tho
commencement OF the sixteenth century
were three who were more especially
and IN the issue OF the Recommendation
Observation-Disclosures Lud Matthias
Rinrmdn. and Martin Waldsce,nulcr our
immediate interest centres IN the last
named. for h, was the profcsscd geo
graphCr and cartograpner of the coleria
Thc "COsmc phiac Introductio" pur-
ports II contain some principles Of 20 ON
ttrY-and astronomy necessary to the uti-
H"rstanding of the subject: also an &C.
count of the four voyages of Amcri-
can Nespucius. Furthermore. the title
makes mention Of "a representation of
universal cosmography both in solido
ana in plano on which were inserted
what 10 Ptolemy vas unknown and
lately discovered"
il has Iona been contc ndcd that if this
map am globe over came to light the
ncWly discovered western lands represent
ed thereon would probably be found to
bear IL" name America. rs suggested
in tho book. This contention was made
most certainty when the two manu-
Script maps by Glaroanus were dis cov-
oroi at Munich and Bonn by Professor
Wiser and Professor Either rcspective-
~ for both these maps bear the name
America. The Bonn map is dated 1910
and, in legend written thereon. Glare
anus himself. although he docs not act,i-
ally mention WaldscCmuler by name
tolls us distinctly that h has followed
the p"odatcnsian (St. Dic) or preferably
Nosgcan Ccographer
Ever since humboldt first called atten-
ton to the "Cosmograrhiae 1ntroductio"
no lost maps have ever been sought for SO
diligently as those Of Waldsoemuller II
Il not too much to say that the honor OF
being their lucky discovorer has long been
considered as the highest possible prize
To DO obtained among students in the
held OF ancient cartograrhy. But until
Professor Fischor's discovery. although
many copies of the hook are known in
Nari"ns editions, no specimen of either
the globe or map has ever been seen or
heard of in modern times. Some his
lorians and gcosraphcls have even gone
50 far as to state definitely that they were
never issued Mt all. ana the book pub.
lish"d alone. Others have held that they
wero actually issued with the book. but.
being separate. mad become lost in the
course of time. Tho writer's holding thi,
last view have hccn brought 10 their be-
Wei by tracing the supposed influence
of the ST Die cartography IT, later maps.
and these authorities have been proved
to h" right By Professor Fischcr's dis
coVcrY. The expectation that the missing
man would be found to bear the name
OF America en- tn" newly discovered
Western lands has also been duly realized.
Authorities have always suffered con
sidcrnblV in ttcir conception as to the
probable form ana sic Of the lost man
OF 1871, hut no one ever suspected the
existence of such a Veritable cartographi- |
cal monster as Professor Fischer mas 50
fortunately awakened from SO many cen |
turtles of peaceful slumbcr IN the library
Of Wolfcgg Castle Tho map is far too |
large to be engraved and printed Of, one
sheet; in fact, it comprises no less than |
twelve sheets, each owing n separate |
border and being therefore complete in |
itself From the scope of the general |
dcsien it Is evident, however, that the 1
IH4lN oil ,,.tg 1