What: Exhibit: The Map that Named America: 1507—2007
Where: T.R. Anderson Gallery, James Ford Bell Library, Wilson Library, University of Minnesota
When: October 1—December 31, 2007, Monday—Wednesday, Friday, 8:30 a.m.—4:30 p.m.; Thursday, 8:30 a.m.—8 p.m.
Cost: Free and open to the public

A public exhibit of rare, original documents related to early travel, including the James Ford Bell Library’s original 1507 Waldseemüller gores globe, the first map to include the word “America.” 2007 is the 500th birthday of the Waldseemüller globe, created by German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller and printed from an engraved woodblock to depict newly-discovered lands in the western Atlantic. The map’s details were drawn from sailors’ charts and other documents, including the popular account of explorer Amerigo Vespucci. It was purchased in 1954 by Minnesota industrialist James Ford Bell and is now part of the collection of the University of Minnesota’s James Ford Bell Library. The exhibit also includes an original version of the Cosmographiae Introductio (the 1507 book printed to explain and accompany the Waldseemuller map), original 16th century manuals and texts on navigation, and other period documents.

This event is cosponsored by the Friends of the University of Minnesota Libraries and the Associates of the James Ford Bell Library.