Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 17, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 January 1911 — OLD MARINE CHART [ARTICLE]

OLD MARINE CHART

Map Made for Amerigo Vespucci Still in Existence. Though Drawn Five Hundred Years Ago It Is Excellent Production of Its Kind—Owned by Roman Citizen. Rome.—Sig. Emilio Grossl of Rome has recently acquired a fifteenth-cen-tury nautical chart which belonged to the great Florentine explorer, Amerigo Vespucclo, and which is considered one of the most important and best preserved marine maps of the famous school of chartography of Majorca. This chart was accidentally discovered in 1800 at Florence in the family archives of the counts of Montignoso, and no doubt exists as to its authenticity. It bears an inscription in Spanish meaning that Gabriel de Valsequa made it id Majorca in the year 1439. Very little is known about Gabriel de Valsequa or Valseca except that he was a native of Majorca and that he belonged to the school of chartography founded there by the celebrated Ralmondo Lullo toward the beginning of the fifteenth century and which continued to flourish until the sixteenth. There are many marine maps in existence made by Valseca’s contemporaries and countrymen, Jaime Ribes. Matias de Villadestes and Mateo Prunes, but cnly three drawn by Valseca. The first is dated 1447 and it belonged to the Venetian nobleman D. N. Barozzi; the second, bearing the same date, was made to order for the celebrated Catalan navigator. Laurla, as it has his coat of arms prominently displayed; the third is so badly damaged that it cannot be identified. Evidently Gabriel de Valseca was well known, as his charts fetched good I prices. In fact, Amerigo Vespucci paid him 130 ducats of gold for this chart, a sum which corresponds to about S2BO. The Florentine explorer wrote down in his handwriting on the chart the amount of money he paid for it and his autograph. Besides proving the ownership of the chart it shows its great value even 500 years ago. The chart consists of a rectangular sheet of parchment about forty-threo inches long and twenty-four wide and it is admirably preserved. The left border is slightly discolored owing to an ink stain which is reported to have been made by George Stand, who examined the map at Florence in 183 C 1 and accidentally spilled ink over it. | Fortunately the stain has not obliterated any writing cn the parchment. It is evident that the chart was drawn purposely to serve fcr navigation. In fact all the ports and seaside cities and towns are carefully noted down and the coast line is designed j with great exactness, while the inland I cities are neglected and only the ] most important are given. The Mediterranean and the Atlantic ocean are left in the natural color of the parchment. while the Red sea is painted red and the Baltic, the Arabian sea and the Persian gulf are distinguished by undulating blue lines. The Mediterranean and Black sea coasts are designed with great exactness and are crowded with the names of cities, towns Snd ports, the first written in red. the last two in black. The Atlantic coasts of Spain and France, as well as the southern coast of England, are -very carefully given and they contrast with the imperfect indications of inland regions. The chart IS inclosed on three sides — north, west and south—by a border which resembles a cornice. To the east of the North sea a chain of mountains is represented and. despite Its mistaken direction, it is evident that it is intended for the Ural mountains. There are seven cities marked on the coasts of the Gulf of Persia, and three on the southern coast of Arabia; Aden is marked at the entrance of £he Red sea and six other cities op Its coast*. In the in-

terior of Arabia there is only Mecha or Mecca surmounted by a flag; in Syria only Damascus, and to the south of it the holy sepulcher. Spain and Italy, with Corsica, Sicily and Sardinia, as well as the minor islands, are carefully drawn and denominated with exactness. Only the best-known cities appear in Spain, France and Italy, such as Sifctlago and Segura, Paris and Avignon, Florence and Venice. The Alps and the Pyrenees have been left out. England and Ireland are imperfectly marked, and so Is Scandinavia.