Boschini’s one of my favorite cartographers. He often used oblique views like this, and sought to emphasize landscape features precisely. Yet, he still had room for whimsy!
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Boschini’s one of my favorite cartographers. He often used oblique views like this, and sought to emphasize landscape features precisely. Yet, he still had room for whimsy!
It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Marco Boschini’s 1651 map of St. Theodoro, off of Crete, features this… sea owl showing its threat display to a passing ship. This map is held by Bibliothèque nationale de France.
It’s #MapMonsterMonday! André Thevet’s 1586 map of Rio de Janeiro features a trio of beaky-looking beasts prowling the waters of Guanabara Bay. This map is held by Bibliothèque nationale de France.
Nope.
Agreed.
Correct.
Awesome! Love to see them pop up.
Fantastic!
1/2 It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Willem Janszoon Blaeu’s 1635 map of Africa features a wide range of beasts: a hippocampus, a spouting whale, a shark, and several more challenging to identify. I like the two creatures seemingly having a laugh. This map is held by Northwestern University Library.
It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Willem Janszoon Blaeu and Johannes Willemszoon Blaeu’s 1614-17 map of the Americas holds a couple of fearsome creatures in the Pacific and a pair of seemingly uncertain beasts in the Atlantic. Interpret how you may. This map is held by the U. of Texas at Arlington Libraries.
It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Lucas Janz Waghenaer’s 1588 map of the northernmost tip of Jutland (note the compass orientations) features a great fish and a curious seal. This map is held by the Royal Museums Greenwich.
Fantastic! I like troutsies.
Love it!
2/2 While there may have been accounts of giraffes, rhinos, elephants, and camels in China, they were not native. This map is held by a private collector.
1/2 It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Jan Huygen van Linschoten’s 1638 map of East and Southeast Asia features a fascinating array of creatures: A pair of sea beasts in apparent conversation, a spouting creature watching a sea battle, a curious shark tailing a ship, and a whale simply minding its business.
I’ll take every second I can get!
Glad to hear that, George.
It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Theodore de Bry’s 1599 map of the North Atlantic features this creature seemingly annoyed by the placement of the meridian. This is pre-Greenwich, so Null Island is still secret. Shhh! This map is held by the New York Public Library.
It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Gerard Mercator’s 1596 map of Brittany and Normandy features this creature, who’s not quite ready to face the week. This map is held by the Library of Congress.
Wishing you well.
So much for “pro-life.”
It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Ever heard of the Null Island Beast? Of course not. I just made it up! Jodocus Hondius’s 1625 map of Guinea. The creature is very near to the 0, 0 coordinate that we jokingly call Null Island. Bonus inset of São Tomé. This map is held by a private collector.
It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Marco Boschini’s 1651 map of Castel Protessa (on Crete) features this great fish surveying the coast. This map is held by Bibliothèque nationale de France.
It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Abraham Ortelius’s 1655 map of Malta features this incredulous sea monster with some impressive fins. “I don’t remember these islands being here!” This map is held by the Malta Study Center at the Hill Museum and Manuscript Library in Minnesota.
Hell of a laugh, Suzanne.
Rod is my copilot.
1/2 It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Giacomo Gastaldi and Giovambattista Ramusio’s c1560 map of Southeast Asia holds several finned and scaled creatures. The turtle seems to be enjoying it all. This map is held by the National Library of Israel.
1/2 It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Abraham Ortelius’s 1582 map of Terceira in the Azores hosts an array of seagoing beasts, as well as a lion, who looks alarmed by his placement above the scale bar. This map is held by Bibliothèque nationale de France.
2/2 In case you’re confused by the name Albania here, it was an older name for Azerbaijan. This map is held by a private collector.
1/2 It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Gerardus Mercator’s c1695 map of the Caucasus and surrounding features a Black Sea monster, not to be confused with the Caspian Sea Monster (look that one up!). There’s also someone hiding at the top of the cartouche.
1/3It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Willem Blaeu’s 1649 map of the world has a lot going on. Some familiar creatures like sharks, billfish, dolphins, and whales are present, but other less identifiable beasts are plying the waters, as well. This map is held by the National and University Library of Slovenia.
Good.
Correct.
It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Jodocus Hondius’s c1640 map of the Americas features a couple of beasts prowling the Pacific. Also interesting is the inset connecting Australia and Antarctica as one. This map is held by the Library of Congress.
It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Gerard Mercator’s 1695 map of Arabia was based on the much earlier work of Ptolemy and features this beauty of a sea dragon, lurking offshore. This map is held by a private collector.
It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Willem Janszoon Blaeu’s 1631 map of Malacca features a pair of sea beasts, as well as some interesting green man-like beings in the title and inset cartouches. This map is held by the National Library of Israel. 1/2
It’s #MapMonsterMonday! John Wolfe and Jan Huygen van Linschoten’s c1598 map of west and southern Africa features a leviathan throwing shade at a passing ship, a triton and siren frolicking in a lake, and some very large snakes. This map is held by a private collector.
Rightly so.
Absolutely don’t. 🤣
It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Jan Janssonius’s c1660 map of Syria features a spouting dolphin, some cartouche creatures (I really need to find out their proper name, as I keep coming across them), and some scale bar cherubim. This map is held by the National Library of Israel.
Agreed. Rory and SRV’s guitars look amazing, but they are the genuine articles. Their stories are legendary. I get cosplay or a museum replica to hold in your hands, but this… Nope.
🤣🤣🤣 Sure, Marj.
Thank you!
🤣🤣🤣
New guy! We’ll never be able to replace Mowgli, but we have a new little rascal. Meet Dandylion, Dandy for short. Dude loves chewing on dandelions, taking care of his big sis, and snuggles, lots of snuggles. He may look like the lead singer of a Scandinavian black metal band, but he’s much fluffier!
It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Tomaso Porcacchi’s 1620 map of Sicily features a smoldering Mt. Etna, as well as a sea goat and a couple serpents (one looks like a floppy-eared dog). This map is held by the Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation in Athens.
It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Matthäus Merian’s 1638 map of the Americas hosts a couple fish, probably shocked that it’s Monday, and an angry-looking face at the bottom of the cartouche. This map is held by Bibliothèque nationale de France.
2/3 Until this map was published in Giovambattista Ramusio’s Navigationi et Viaggi, European accounts confused Sumatra with Sri Lanka. Juuuust a bit outside. This map is held by Library of Congress.
1/3 It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Giacomo Gastaldi’s 1556 map of Sumatra is teeming with an array of sea creatures… and a pair of camels.
It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Marco Boschini’s 1651 map of Messára on Crete features a whale surveying the scene. I love Boschini’s bird’s eye perspectives. This map is held by Bibliothèque nationale de France.
1/2 It’s #MapMonsterMonday! John Wolfe’s 1598 map of southern Africa hosts a range of ferocious creatures. I love how elaborate some of the monsters are, but my favorite scene is with the two hippocampus frolicking in the interior lake. This map is held by a private collector.
1/2 It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Giacomo Gastaldi and Giovambattista Ramusio’s c1565 map of southern Asia and the Indian Ocean host an array of beasts… and quite a few snakes. Some of the creatures look like they’re not ready for the weekend to be over. This map is held by the National Library of Israel.
Bellbottoms?
I like her already!
It’s #MapMonsterMonday! André Thevet’s 1581 map of Africa has sea monsters large, small, scaly, spiky, serpentine, and fierce. Quite an assortment! This map is held by Bibliothèque nationale de France. 1/3
Today, I had to say goodbye to one of the most amazing creatures I’ve ever known. He was so loved. Godspeed, Mowgli. ❤️
It’s #MapMonsterMonday! John Speed’s 1610-16 map of Cumberland features this sea pig, as well as a standard-bearing unicorn and lion. Seeing this, I’m convinced that speed had never seen a lion… This map is held by Bibliothèque nationale de France.
Several suits without men, in fact.
It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Marco Boschini’s 1651 map of Sitia on Crete hosts this creature, who’s not ready for Monday. Same, creature, same. This map is held by Bibliothèque nationale de France.
1/2 It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Tomasso Porcacchi’s 1620 map of Rhodes hosts quite an array of creatures: a serpent with huge ears, a couple of seemingly winged and beaked fish, and lots of dolphins. This map is held by the Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation in Athens.
It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Theodore de Bry’s 1594 map of portions of the Americas hosts a pair of beasts: a great fish or whale plying Golfo Mexicano and a dragon near the Bahamas. Beautiful colorizing on this one. This map is held by a private collector.
It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Jan Janssonius’s 1650 unusual map of Asia, Africa, and Europe has one obvious creature, the dolphin, but have a look in the margins…. Lots of cherubs, as well. This map is held by a private collector.
1/2 It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Giacomo Gastaldi and Giovanni Battista Ramusio’s c1565 map of the Indian Ocean and South Asia features a wispy fish, a crocodile(?), a shaggy sea dog, and a spouting fish with a couple of friends. Quite an assortment! This map is held by the National Library of Israel.
It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Eilhart Lubinus’s 1608 map of Rügen in the Baltic features several great beasts: a winged lion, a blue whale with its mouth open, a shark, and… is that a dragon? This map is held by the University and State Library of Saxony-Anhalt.
Well… snacktime!
2/2 It also reflects the very limited European knowledge of North America and vague notions of Australia and Antarctica. One of the then-proposed names for the polar continent was Magallanica, as depicted here. This map is held by the National Library of Australia.
1/2 It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Matthäus Merian’s c1648 world map hosts an array of creatures plying the oceans: serpents, dragons, whales (including a narwhal), and a billfish.
The map features many geographic mistakes, but represents Ramusio’s fervent efforts to piece together information from disparate sources to gain a more comprehensive picture of the world. This map is held by the University of Texas at Arlington. 2/2
It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Giacomo Gastaldi and Giovanni Battista Ramusio’s 1556 hemispherical map of the Americas is replete with fearsome sea beasts. 1/2
It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Gerardus Mercator and Henricus Hondius’s c1620 map of Denmark hosts an array of creatures: a toothy sea serpent, a sea turtle chased by a large-eared fish, and two beasts engaged in a splash fight. This map is held by a private collector.
My other calendar is pretty rad! @rocksonpaper.bsky.social
New Year, new calendar!
It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Theodor de Bry’ and John White’s 1590 map of the British arriving in what they then called Virginia, features this feisty-looking sea beast. A decent depiction of the Outer Banks, but an unfamiliarity with the shape of the Chesapeake. This map is held by a private collector.
You look amazing! Please don’t spit at me.
🔥
🤣 Smol scale.
It’s #MapMonsterMonday! John Speed’s 1610 map of Glamorgan features this lady riding on the back of what may best be described as a sea lion. No, not the animal of that name, but a half lion, half fish. Merlion? This map is held by Bibliothèque nationale de France.
This is so cool!
It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Marco Boschini’s 1651 map of Xerókampos features this whale(?) with a swirly tail and a pair of dolphins. I love Boschini’s bird’s eye view maps and his terrain technique. This map is held by Bibliothèque nationale de France.
🔥
Absolutely stunning!
It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Jan Janssonius’s c1621 map of the Irish Sea and surrounding lands features this dragon or fish… I can’t decide which it is. This map is held by the National Library of Israel.
