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A cropped view of East and Southeast Asia from Waldseemüller's 1507 world map, with dense place names and islands distributed along the map's eastern edge.

1507 · Woodcut world map

East Asia on Waldseemüller's world map

Martin Waldseemüller

Why it matters

The map brought Polo's Asian geography into the same visual system as reports from Atlantic voyages. Its eastern islands show cartography trying to reconcile inherited descriptions with a rapidly changing world picture.

Publication
Universalis cosmographia
Holding institution
Bibliothèque nationale de France, Département des Cartes et plans
Shelfmark
GE D-8801
Rights
Public-domain map; cropped from a BnF/Gallica digital reproduction

Citation

Waldseemüller, Martin. Universalis cosmographia, East Asia detail. 1507. BnF, Département des Cartes et plans, GE D-8801.

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