The Marietta journal and courier. (Marietta, Ga.) 1909-1918, 1911-03-31
AMERICA NAMED
IN FRENCH TOWN
Little Town Of 81. Die TO CeIe-
bTate Fact.
WESTERN WORLD GODNOTHER

Learned Followers of Gutenberg Hon
ored Amerigo Vespuco In 1907 by
Using His Name as Title For Recent
iy Discovered Continent For First
Time In History of Earth.
The little town of st. Die, in the
Vosges department of France. is pre-
pairing to celebrate the fact that in a
book printed there the name Amer.
lea was first given to the western
world. Nj. Pichon, minister of foreign
affairs, is to preside at the celebration
and to represent the French govern
ment.
In the fifteenth century there ex-
listed at st. Die a college of learned
canons who formed the Gymnase Vos-
glen, which became famous and at
tracted many scholars to the town.
About 1907, or some thirty-fve years
after the death of Gutenberg, this So
ciety determined to set up printing
machine, the first or possibly the sec.
ond installed in the province of Lor-
raine.
Two learned strangers who had re-
Gently arrived In the country encour-
aged the canons in their undertaking,
furnishing some Of the money needed
and supervising the work. These
strangers were Martin Waldseemuller
Of Fribourg-en- Brisgau, a noted geog-
rapher, and Matthias Ringmann. born
at Val dOrbey, n schoolmaster from
Strasburg. aged twenty-five.
Lorraine Assists In Work.
The printing shop was established
In house on the Place Pierre Hardie.
now called the Place Jules Ferry. The
Duke Of Lorraine. Rene H., looked
with favor on the undertaking, and
having received from Italy a descrip-
ton in French entitled "Quatre Navi-
cations d'Americ Vespuce' he passed
1t over to Canon Jean Basin de San
dancourt for translation into Latin.
AT this time Waldseemuller and
Ringmann were ut work on a repro
duction of Ptolemy's treatise on geog-
raphy. to which they were adding a
preface entitled "Cosmographiae In
troductiO," They determined to incor-
porate the story of Amerigo Vespucci's
voyages into this work, and Ring
mann, who was acting as editor, wrote
an Introduction beginning:
There is a fourth quarter of the
world which Amerigo Vespucci has
discovered and which for this reason
we can call America or the land of
America"
Further on he wrote:
1--WE do not see why the name of the
man of genius, Amerigo. who has dis.
covered them, should not be given to
these lands, as Europe and Asia have
adopted the names Of women"
Books Bring High Prices.
The work appeared on April %, 1907.
under the title "Cosmographiae Intro
ductio." 1t went through three edi-
tons, and copies nowadays bring high
prices, over 5000. Something like
dozen are known to exist but the IL
brary of st. Die. though rich in rare
black letters, does not possess a copy.
The town of st. Die has often been
recognized as the gOdmother Of Amer
lea. In July, 1875, Henri Bardy, presi-
dent of the VOsgian Philomathic so
ciety, was invited to the international
congress of Americanists as the repre-
sentative of the little town
In 1901 Frank Mason. now consul
general at Paris, published a work on
1.-The Baptismal Font of America" and
In 1892 special hall was reserved at
the Chicago universal exhibition for
st. Die. where with many views of
the town copy of the celebrated work
was shown. open at page 30, where
the name America" first made its ap-
pearance.