NOTES

Lorenzo Lotto Portrait of Columbus.Fig. 24. Lorenzo Lotto Portrait of Columbus.

Fig. 24. Lorenzo Lotto Portrait of Columbus.

The explorer, John Cabot (1450-1498) (Fig.25), is likewise reputed to have been interested in the construction of globes. In a dispatch sent from London, December 18, 1497, by the envoy Raimondi di Soncino to the Duke of Milan, we read that “this Master John has a description of the world on a map, and also on a solid sphere, which he has made, and it shows where he landed, and that sailing toward the east (west) he had passed far beyond the region of the Tanais.”116

Portrait of Sebastian Cabot, Son of John Cabot.Fig. 25. Portrait of Sebastian Cabot, Son of John Cabot.

Fig. 25. Portrait of Sebastian Cabot, Son of John Cabot.

That terrestrial globes were constructed toward the close of the fifteenth century is of significance, not only as a response to a new desire for more nearly accurate representation of the earth’s surface than could be set forth on a plane map, but it is likewise significant by reason of the fact that such globes as were constructed served to demonstrate the value of globe maps, and this value once demonstrated, they served to awaken a still further interest in globe making, which bears abundant fruitage in the following century.

There is a very remarkable celestial globe of the fifteenth century now belonging to the Lyceum Library of Constance, Switzerland. It is the work of Johannes Stöffler (1452-1531),117at one time a pastor in the town of Justingen, later a professor of mathematics in the University of Tübingen,where he achieved renown as mathematician, astronomer, cosmographer, and mechanic. It appears from the title of a publication attributed to Stöffler, ‘De artificiosa globi terrestris compositione,’118that he was a maker of terrestrial globes, though no such globe of his is now known, and from his letters to Reuchlin we learn that he made no less than three celestial globes.119One of the latter he sent to his friend, Probst Peter Wolf of Denkendorf, which represented the movements of the sun and of the moon. A second was constructed for Bishop von Dalberg of Worms, on which the stars were represented in gold.120Nothing further is definitely known of these two globes. A third was constructed for Bishop Daniel of Constance, which is the one now to be found in that city’s library.121This sphere has a diameter of 48 cm., rests upon a wooden base, and is furnished with a meridian and with a horizon circle. The forty-eight constellations of Ptolemy are represented on a dark background and are outlined in accord with recognized traditions. To a few of the constellations double names are given, as “Hercules” and “Genuflexus,” “Auriga” and “Agitator”. Stars of the first magnitude are especially distinguished by name, the majority of which are of Arabic origin, and more than one thousand stars are clearly indicated.

To the globe makers themselves, who were active agents in creating a demand for globes, there should here be added the name of Conrad Celtes (1459-1508),122the distinguished German humanist, as that of one who contributed most in the first years of modern times toward arousing an interest in the use of globes in the schools. Aschbach, in his History of the Vienna University,123tells us of the school founded in Vienna in the year 1510 by the Emperor Maximilian I, and of the instruction given in this school by Celtes. We are informed that in his lectures on mathematical geography he introduced a good text of Ptolemy in the original Greek; this he translated into Latin, interpreting the same in German, explaining the several sentences by reference to aterrestrial and to a celestial globe. Having no record that such a method had been earlier employed we may therefore conclude that this distinguished teacher was the first to proceed in the manner designated, that is, he was the first in modern times to make use of globes in geographical and astronomical instruction.

97Major, R. H. Life of Prince Henry the Navigator. London, 1868. This is one of the first, and, at the same time, one of the most satisfactory biographies of Prince Henry; Beazley, C. R. Prince Henry the Navigator. New York, 1895; Azurara, Gomez Eannes de. Chronicle of the Discovery and Conquest of Guinea. Tr. and ed. by Charles Raymond Beazley and Edward Prestage. (Hakluyt Society Publications. London, 1896. 2 vols.)

98D’Avezac, M. A. P. Description et histoire des îles de l’Afrique. Paris, 1848; same author, Notice des découvertes faites au moyen âge dans l’Océan Atlantique. Paris, 1845; same author, Les îles fantastiques de l’Océan occidental au moyen âge. Paris, 1845; Margry, P. La conquête des îles Canaries. Paris, 1896; Beazley. Dawn of Modern Geography. Vol. III, chap. iv.The Canary Islands, and perhaps others in the eastern Atlantic, were known to the Romans, but appear to have been lost to the knowledge of the Europeans during the greater part of the middle ages, to be rediscovered in the period in which modern geographical exploration was being entered upon.

The Canary Islands, and perhaps others in the eastern Atlantic, were known to the Romans, but appear to have been lost to the knowledge of the Europeans during the greater part of the middle ages, to be rediscovered in the period in which modern geographical exploration was being entered upon.

99Ravenstein, E. G. The voyages of Diogo Cão and Bartholomew Diaz. (In: Geographical Journal. London, 1900. Vol. XVI, pp. 625-655.)

100Beazley. Dawn of Modern Geography. Vol. II, chap. v; Vol. III, chap. ii; Yule, H. The Book of Sir Marco Polo, the Venetian, concerning the Kingdoms and Marvels of the East. London, 1903. 2 vols.

101Nordenskiöld, A. E. Facsimile Atlas. Stockholm, 1889; same author, Periplus. Stockholm, 1897; Stevenson, E. L. Portolan Charts, their origin and characteristics. New York, 1911; same author, Genoese World Map, 1457. New York, 1912; same author, Facsimiles of Portolan Charts. New York, 1916.From the above-named list of works, to which numerous additions might be made, a general notion of the beginnings of modern cartography can be obtained.

From the above-named list of works, to which numerous additions might be made, a general notion of the beginnings of modern cartography can be obtained.

102Doppelmayr, J. S. Historische Nachricht von den Nürnbergischen Mathematicis und Künstlern. Nürnberg, 1730. pp. 27 ff. Murr, C. G. v. Diplomatische Geschichte des portuguisischen berühmten Ritters Martin Behaim aus Originalurkunden. Nürnberg, 1778; Ghillany, F. W. Der Erdglobus des Martin Behaim von 1492, und der des Johann Schöner 1520. Nürnberg, 1842; same author, Geschichte des Seefahrers Ritter MartinBehaim, nach den ältesten vorhandenen Urkunden bearbeitet. Nürnberg, 1853; Ziegler, A. Martin Behaim, der Geistige Entdecker Amerikas. Dresden, 1859; Günther, S. Martin Behaim. Bamberg, 1890; Wieser, F. v. Magalhâes-Strasse und Australkontinent auf den Globen des Johannes Schöner. Innsbruck, 1881; Gallois, L. Les Géographes allemands de la renaissance. Paris, 1890. Chap. iii; Ravenstein, E. G. Martin Behaim, His Life and His Globe. London, 1908; Harrisse, H. The Discovery of North America. London, 1892. pp. 391.Of the above-named works, that by Ravenstein is the most satisfactory, being a most scholarly and scientific treatment of his subject. His work is indeed a monument in the field of historical geography. Of the reproductions of the globe map, none surpasses the excellent facsimile in the form of globe gores which he prepared to accompany his studies. With the utmost care he deciphered the numerous legends and place names, admitting, here and there, the possibility of inaccuracy in the readings due to the damaged condition of the globe. Vignaud, H., in his Toscanelli and Columbus, pp. 182-186, gives a list of the numerous reproductions of the globe map, with a brief word concerning each. It may here be added that an excellent reproduction of the globe, mounted as is the original, and made for Dr. W. B. James of New York, in Nürnberg, the Ravenstein gores being pasted over the prepared ball, may be seen in the map department of The American Geographical Society. A similar reproduction of the globe, with mounting of wood instead of iron, was obtained by the author for exhibition in the Santa Maria, Spain’s Official Replica of the Flagship of Admiral Columbus, which was to have been exhibited in San Francisco in 1915. It failed, however, to reach its destination, and was returned to Chicago.

Of the above-named works, that by Ravenstein is the most satisfactory, being a most scholarly and scientific treatment of his subject. His work is indeed a monument in the field of historical geography. Of the reproductions of the globe map, none surpasses the excellent facsimile in the form of globe gores which he prepared to accompany his studies. With the utmost care he deciphered the numerous legends and place names, admitting, here and there, the possibility of inaccuracy in the readings due to the damaged condition of the globe. Vignaud, H., in his Toscanelli and Columbus, pp. 182-186, gives a list of the numerous reproductions of the globe map, with a brief word concerning each. It may here be added that an excellent reproduction of the globe, mounted as is the original, and made for Dr. W. B. James of New York, in Nürnberg, the Ravenstein gores being pasted over the prepared ball, may be seen in the map department of The American Geographical Society. A similar reproduction of the globe, with mounting of wood instead of iron, was obtained by the author for exhibition in the Santa Maria, Spain’s Official Replica of the Flagship of Admiral Columbus, which was to have been exhibited in San Francisco in 1915. It failed, however, to reach its destination, and was returned to Chicago.

103See Fig.23.

104The itemized statement of expenses, delivered to the Nürnberg Council by George Holzschuher, was first published by Peitz, J. (In: Mitteilungen des Vereins für die Geschichte der Stadt Nürnberg, Heft 6. Nürnberg, 1886.) It is of sufficient interest in the history of globe making to be cited here. The translation is Ravenstein’s, pp. 111-112. “Expenditure on the globe. Expenditure, Nürnberg, August 26, 1494. Below is to be found a statement of what I, George Holzschuher have expended by order of my lords of the city treasury, upon limning and otherwise, for making the ‘apple,’ or mappa mundi in the shape of a sphere, and also for making the map for the clerk’s office, which Mr. Marten Beham, having expended thereon his art and pains, left behind for the enjoyment of my lords of the worshipful council.“Itemfirst, to Glockenthon, who painted the sphere, and spent 15 weeks over it, fl. 14; to his wife, fl. 1, facit, fl. 15, lb.-dn.-(£2 10s.)“Itempaid for a loam mould over which the sphere was to have been made, as a guide for Kalberger, 28 dn.; also for linen for the first sphere, 21 dn.; also for wine and beer, and other things, for the limner’s dinner whilst painting the globe, and occasionally also for Peham; and for bread for cleansing the globe, and making it nice, fl. 1, lb. 1, dn. 16; also to Gagenhart for lettering, 16 dn.; fecit, miscellaneous expenses.fl. 1, lb. 3, dn. 21 (14s. 5d.)“Itempaid Glockengiesser for a mould broken by Kalperger, and round which Kalperger was to have made a large sphere, both through N. Gross and M. Pehamfl. 2, lb.-, dn.- (£1.)“Itempaid for white vellum (parchment) covering the sphere, 80 dn.; also for a cover lined with skin to protect the sphere from dust, 3 lb., 20 dn.; also to the smith for two iron hoops within which the sphere revolves, 4 lb. 6 dn.; also to the joiner for wooden stand of the sphere, 4 lb. 6 dn. facit, miscellaneous expensesfl. 1, lb. 6, dn. 10 (17s. 7d.)“Itempaid to Mr. Marten Beham for a printed mappa mundi, embracing the whole world, which was used for the globe, and is to be hung in the town office, 1 fl. 3 lb.; also for painting, etc., 1 fl.; also for lining and glueing (mounting) the same, 5 lb. 10 dn.; also to the joiner for a frame and two panels, 1 fl.; also to the starch painter for painting these panels,4 lb. 6 dn.; facit fl. 4, lb. 4, dn. 6 (£2 5s.)“Item, Kalperger has not been paid for making the sphere: he demands 3 fl., but owes for the linen which was used for the old tent over the ‘beautiful fountain,’ in return for which he was to have made the large sphere; he had also broken the pattern or mould for which 2 gulden (20s) had to be paid to Glockengiesser; he also promised Mr. Merten that if he taught him the art of cosmography or the laying out (planning) of the globe he would make another sphere during the time.”

“Itemfirst, to Glockenthon, who painted the sphere, and spent 15 weeks over it, fl. 14; to his wife, fl. 1, facit, fl. 15, lb.-dn.-(£2 10s.)

“Itempaid for a loam mould over which the sphere was to have been made, as a guide for Kalberger, 28 dn.; also for linen for the first sphere, 21 dn.; also for wine and beer, and other things, for the limner’s dinner whilst painting the globe, and occasionally also for Peham; and for bread for cleansing the globe, and making it nice, fl. 1, lb. 1, dn. 16; also to Gagenhart for lettering, 16 dn.; fecit, miscellaneous expenses.

fl. 1, lb. 3, dn. 21 (14s. 5d.)

“Itempaid Glockengiesser for a mould broken by Kalperger, and round which Kalperger was to have made a large sphere, both through N. Gross and M. Peham

fl. 2, lb.-, dn.- (£1.)

“Itempaid for white vellum (parchment) covering the sphere, 80 dn.; also for a cover lined with skin to protect the sphere from dust, 3 lb., 20 dn.; also to the smith for two iron hoops within which the sphere revolves, 4 lb. 6 dn.; also to the joiner for wooden stand of the sphere, 4 lb. 6 dn. facit, miscellaneous expenses

fl. 1, lb. 6, dn. 10 (17s. 7d.)

“Itempaid to Mr. Marten Beham for a printed mappa mundi, embracing the whole world, which was used for the globe, and is to be hung in the town office, 1 fl. 3 lb.; also for painting, etc., 1 fl.; also for lining and glueing (mounting) the same, 5 lb. 10 dn.; also to the joiner for a frame and two panels, 1 fl.; also to the starch painter for painting these panels,

4 lb. 6 dn.; facit fl. 4, lb. 4, dn. 6 (£2 5s.)

“Item, Kalperger has not been paid for making the sphere: he demands 3 fl., but owes for the linen which was used for the old tent over the ‘beautiful fountain,’ in return for which he was to have made the large sphere; he had also broken the pattern or mould for which 2 gulden (20s) had to be paid to Glockengiesser; he also promised Mr. Merten that if he taught him the art of cosmography or the laying out (planning) of the globe he would make another sphere during the time.”

105An account of October 16, 1510, reads, “Item, 1 lb. Nov for a large brass sign surrounding the map.” This doubtless is a reference to the globe. Ghillany attributes this work to Werner. See also Günther, S. Johann Werner von Nürnberg und seine Beziehungen zur mathematischen und physikalischen Erdkunde. Halle, 1878.

106Ravenstein, op. cit., pp. 59-60.

107Ravenstein, op. cit., pp. 75-76.

108Ravenstein, op. cit., p. 77.

109D’Avezac, M. A. P. Sur un globe terrestre trouvé a Laon, anterieur à la découverte de l’Amerique. (In: Bulletin de la Société de Géographie de France. Paris, 1860.)This work contains an announcement of the discovery of the globe, together with a description of the same.Raemdonck, J. v. Les sphères céleste et terrestre de Gérard Mercator. St. Nicolas, 1874. pp. 25 ff. Nordenskiöld. Facsimile Atlas, p. 73.

109D’Avezac, M. A. P. Sur un globe terrestre trouvé a Laon, anterieur à la découverte de l’Amerique. (In: Bulletin de la Société de Géographie de France. Paris, 1860.)

This work contains an announcement of the discovery of the globe, together with a description of the same.

Raemdonck, J. v. Les sphères céleste et terrestre de Gérard Mercator. St. Nicolas, 1874. pp. 25 ff. Nordenskiöld. Facsimile Atlas, p. 73.

110Britten, F. J. Old clocks and watches and their makers. New York, 1911; Berthoud, F. Histoire de la mesure du temps par les horologes. Paris, 1849.Globe clocks, or clocks of which globes were a conspicuous feature, were not uncommon in this period. See the reference, p. 73, to the Lenox globe, the reference, p. 74, to the Jagellonicus globe, and the reference, p. 173, to the work of Dasypodius.

110Britten, F. J. Old clocks and watches and their makers. New York, 1911; Berthoud, F. Histoire de la mesure du temps par les horologes. Paris, 1849.

Globe clocks, or clocks of which globes were a conspicuous feature, were not uncommon in this period. See the reference, p. 73, to the Lenox globe, the reference, p. 74, to the Jagellonicus globe, and the reference, p. 173, to the work of Dasypodius.

111Vignaud, H. Toscanelli and Columbus. London, 1902.This is a very remarkable piece of historical criticism. Citation is given for every statement of special importance, including a reference to those students of the question who do not agree with the author’s point of view. See also this distinguished author’s work, Histoire critique de la Grande Entreprise de Christophe Colomb. Paris, 1911. 2 vols.

111Vignaud, H. Toscanelli and Columbus. London, 1902.

This is a very remarkable piece of historical criticism. Citation is given for every statement of special importance, including a reference to those students of the question who do not agree with the author’s point of view. See also this distinguished author’s work, Histoire critique de la Grande Entreprise de Christophe Colomb. Paris, 1911. 2 vols.

112Las Casas, Bartolomè de. Historia de las Indias. Madrid, 1875. Vol. I, p. 92.

113Ulloa, A. Histoire del S. D. Fernando Colombo. Venice, 1571. Chap. vii, p. 15. See Churchill, Voyages, also Bourne, E. G., Spain in America. NewYork, 1904.

114Las Casas, op. cit., pp. 224 ff.

115Las Casas, op. cit., p. 48.

116Harrisse, H. Jean et Sébastien Cabot. Paris, 1862. Doc. X, p. 324; Tarducci, F. Di Giovanni e Sebastiano Caboto. Venezia, 1892. p. 351; Winsor, J. Narrative and Critical History of America. Boston, 1884. Vol. III, pp. 54-55.Harrisse and Tarducci print the letter of Soncino in the original Italian; Winsor gives the first translation into English (tr. by Professor B. H. Nash). A very superior work for reference to the Cabots is: Winship, G. P. Cabot Bibliography. London, 1900.

Harrisse and Tarducci print the letter of Soncino in the original Italian; Winsor gives the first translation into English (tr. by Professor B. H. Nash). A very superior work for reference to the Cabots is: Winship, G. P. Cabot Bibliography. London, 1900.

117Moll, J. C. A. Johannes Stöffler von Justingen, ein Characterbild aus dem ersten Halbjahrhundert der Universität Tübingen. Lindau, 1877.

118This work is referred to by Moll in his chapter on “Stöfflers Schriften.”

119Moll, op. cit., chap. ix, “Stöffler als Mechaniker,” refers to him as globe maker and as clock maker, with special mention of his three celestial globes.

120Günther is in error in referring to this globe as the one now in Constance.

121Moll, op. cit., pp. 49-51.

122Günther, S. Geschichte. pp. 250 ff.

123Aschbach, J. v. Die Wiener Universität und ihre Humanisten im Zeitalters Kaiser Maximilians I. (In: Geschichte der Wiener Universität. Wien, 1877. Vol. II, p. 62.)

Ship. From early portolan chart.

Summary of fifteenth century globe characteristics.—Increasing interest in globes.—Globes of Pope Julius II.—Friar Marco da Benevento.—Importance of the Rosselli family of Florence.—The globe of Barnaba Canti.—Friar Giuliano Vannelli.—Interest of Trithemius in globes.—The Bunau globe.—Waldseemüller’s map and globe.—Liechtenstein globes.—Büchlin reference.—Globus Mundi.—Welt Kugel.—Lenox globe.—Jagellonicus globe.—Hauslab.—Green globe of Paris.—Nordenskiöld gores.—So-called Leonardo da Vinci gores.—Boulengier gores.—Acton globes.—Globes of Magellan and of del Cano.—Globes of Schöner.

TERRESTRIALglobes of the early years of great geographical discoveries, that is, of the fifteenth century, to which reference was made in the preceding chapter, appear to have been constructed either of metal, on the surface of which the map was engraved, of which the Laon globe is an example; of a composition fashioned into a ball over a mould on which strips of parchment or paper were then pasted, having the map drawn by hand, as the Behaim globe; or the ball was of wood with map in manuscript, as was probably the globe attributed to John Cabot. Here were beginnings, and the following century witnessed a remarkable increase of interest in globe construction.Title-page of Johann Schöner's Terrae Descriptio, 1518.Fig. 26. Title-page of Johann Schöner’s Terrae Descriptio, 1518.As the true position of places on the earth’s surface, as well as the distance between any two places, could best be represented on a globe, cartographers and globe makers became active in their endeavors to meet the desiresof those interested in geography. They no longer confined themselves to such globes as the Behaim and the Laon, which, in reality, are artistically interesting rather than scientifically useful, but they sought to make use of the new invention of printing. Maps giving the outlines of continents, with place names, rivers, constellations, and star names were printed from wood blocks or from copper engraved plates on paper gores, which were so fashioned mathematically that they could be made to fit the surface of a prepared ball, with careful adjustment and manipulation. In this manner globes in great numbers could be prepared, with the added advantage that they were all alike, or similar. The sixteenth century soon furnished rules for globe-gore construction, and while the methods of globe making hitherto common were not entirely given over, as many artistic pieces of the period, which have come down to us, testify, the new method was soon in general favor and became in the course of time practically the only method employed. It is the globe maker’s method today.

If the actual number of globes constructed shortly before and shortly after 1500 appears to have been small, judging from the number extant, we often find additional assurance of interest in such instruments in the use that was made of them for illustrative purposes, and for decoration. Terrestrial and celestial globes, as well as armillart spheres,frequently appeared on title-pages (Figs.26,27), in paintings (Fig.28), or constituted a part of the library furnishings (Fig.29).124

Second Title-page of Mauro Fiorentino’s Sphera Volgare, 1537.Fig. 27. Second Title-page of Mauro Fiorentino’s Sphera Volgare, 1537.

Fig. 27. Second Title-page of Mauro Fiorentino’s Sphera Volgare, 1537.

Holbein’s Ambassadors, ca. 1536.Fig. 28. Holbein’s Ambassadors, ca. 1536.

Fig. 28. Holbein’s Ambassadors, ca. 1536.

Library of Escorial.Fig. 29. Library of Escorial.

Fig. 29. Library of Escorial.

Among the ducal houses, famous in Italy in this period for interest in matters geographical, none was more conspicuous than was the house of Este of Ferrara.125We have aninteresting letter dated Rome, January 17, 1509, and written by Fioramonte Brognoli to Isabel of Este, wife of Francis II, Marquis of Mantua, daughter of Hercules I, Duke of Ferrara, who was responsible for the draughting of the Cantino map of the year 1502,126and granddaughter of Duke Borso, to whom Donnus Nicholas Germanus dedicated or addressed, in 1466, his twenty-seven Ptolemy maps.127Brognoli, having received from the Marchioness an order for a copy of the globes, terrestrial and celestial, possessed by Pope Julius II, made reply that “the map and celestial signs which are painted on two solid spheres in the library of the Pope, of which your Excellency would like to have copies, I have ordered, and the same to be made by a good painter of the Palace, who tells me that it will take some time because the matter is quite difficult. I will not fail in care, and will provide the necessary funds, so that as soon as possible I will send them to you by a trusty messenger.”128Again the Roman correspondent wrote, the letter bearing date February 1, 1505, “That master painter who would like to make copies of the map and the zodiac which are in the library of the Pope, about which Your Excellency wrote me some time ago, tells me that to make them with linen it will cost more than forty ducats, but to draw them on paper according to a certain design which is painted on canvas in that place, it would cost very little. I thought I would inform Your Excellency before giving the order, that I might ascertain your wishes, for I shall do exactly that which you desire.”129February 20, 1505, the Marchioness replied from Mantua, saying that “the expense of forty ducats will not deter us, if the copy of the map and of the zodiac is well made and is similar to that found in the library of the Pope. You may order it to be made with extreme diligence and with exactness.”130

The globe of Pope Julius II, in question, must then have been constructed prior to 1505, seeing this to be the year of the correspondence to which reference has been madeabove. From the partial description given in the letters we are led to the conclusion that they were not engraved metal globes, but their maps were manuscript, and were well decorated by hand. The Vatican Museum is still in possession of a celestial globe which may well be one of those once belonging to Pope Julius II, the terrestrial globe having disappeared. From the interesting description of Denza131we learn that this remaining one is a hollow wooden ball, 95 cm. in diameter. That there might be an even surface on which to draw the star map, a covering of plaster had been provided, 4 mm. in thickness. It is furnished with a somewhat elaborate base, ornamented with sphinxes with the heads of eagles and the feet of lions. Its horizon circle, supported by four quarter circles, is a band 5 cm. wide, the surface of which is divided into five concentric circles, within which are the names of the several signs of the zodiac in Latin, the names of the days of the month, and the names of the eight principal winds in the Italian language. Along the outer edge of this horizon circle is the following inscription, “Daniel Chassignet. Fecit. Romae 1617,” a name and date clearly applying only to this circle or to the globe’s mounting. It has a meridian circle within which the sphere revolves. On the surface of the ball we find represented the principal circles, that is, the equator, the tropics, the polar circles, with five meridians, and the ecliptic, its twelve signs being represented in gilded characters. The coat of arms, painted near the south pole, is not that of Pope Julius II, but of Cardinal Gian Stefano Ferrero, Bishop of Bologna, who became a supporter of Juliani della Rovere in his candidacy for the papal office, and to which office he was elected, becoming known as Julius II. Fiorini thinks it probable that the globe was presented by Cardinal Ferrero to the Pope, and that while in his possession the coat of arms was painted on its surface. It is indeed not improbable that it was originally constructed for the Cardinal. Contrary to the opinion of Denza,Fiorini’s conclusion is that the decoration of the globe is not to be attributed to Giulio Romano, a distinguished pupil of Raphael, and the arguments presented seem acceptable.132

As proof of an existing interest in globes, in Italy, in the first years of the sixteenth century, other than that given by the letters of Isabel of Este, and the globes of Pope Julius, we find an allusion to the subject by Friar Marco da Benevento, member of the order of Celestini and a renowned mathematician. In his ‘Orbis nova descriptio,’133which he added to an edition of Ptolemy, issued in Rome in the year 1507 or 1508, he alludes to the difficulty of representing the earth upon a solid sphere, adding that the greater the size of the same the greater the difficulty there is in moving it, and that the larger the globe the more difficult it is to take in at a glance any considerable part of the map. While making no specific mention of any of the globe makers of the time, his reference to the subject seems to assure us that globes were objects more or less familiar to students of geography in his day.

Fiorini cites at some length an inventory relating to the printing establishment of Alexander Rosselli of Florence, under whose father, Francesco, this establishment became famous.134The father died in the year 1510, but it is probable that this artist, painter, and miniaturist, who issued for his establishment numerous maps, printed, likewise, globe gores. While the inventory gives us intimation of his great activity, we have no further knowledge of his work as a globe maker than is contained therein. It may well have been that the construction of globes with printed gore maps had its origin in Florence in the very early sixteenth century, and that a credit we have been accustomed to give to German map makers135is in reality due the Rosselli family of Italy, particularly Francesco Rosselli.

Fiorini likewise alludes to a letter written by Friar Zenobio Acciaioli, dated Lucca, May 12, 1509, and addressed to the Florentine, Luigi Pietro Guicciardini, brotherof the distinguished historian.136Request is made in this letter that assistance and advice be given to a brother monk, Barnaba Canti, who had been asked to describe a map on which the newly discovered lands were well drawn, there being written on the map the history of the islands, with a description of the lands and of the customs of the peoples. Attention is likewise called to a globe which Canti possessed, it being designated as “sphaerula” or small. The letter further notes, “Cupit autem illam Joannes teutonicus astrologus, ut ex suis ad me literis quas inclusas tibi in his mitto, videre poteris.” “John the German astronomer desires this (map?) as you will be able to see from his letters to me which enclosed I send to you.”

It is ingeniously argued that the Joannes referred to was none other than John Schöner, who later became famous as mathematician and as map and globe maker, and that the globe referred to by Acciaioli was one in the construction of which the globe gores of Rosselli had been used, since “Joannes teutonicus” in all probability would not have thought of receiving from Italy a manuscript globe.

For the history of globe making as practiced in Florence in these early years, there is in the record of the deliberations of the Florentine Signoria, dated December 30, 1515, an entry of interest.137The Priors and Gonfaloniers directed attention to the sphere, which had been placed in the orologia or clock room, noting that the terrestrial orb which had been painted thereon was greatly damaged, “... super qua depicta est figura et situs orbis terrarum ... devastata et male picta.” They expressed a desire that it should be fully repaired and be made suitable as an adornment of the wonderful clock, and in keeping with the remarkable celestial sphere which was placed near by: “ut similis sit et non discrepet, in sua qualitate, a mirabili orologio predicto, et a convicina et mirabili palla, ubi apparet figura et ambitus celi.” Having knowledge of the ability andskill of Friar Giuliano Vannelli, it was decided to entrust the reconstruction to him. We learn that on June 28, 1516, the Signoria directed payment of fifty large florins be made to Friar Giuliano, in addition to the six already paid, for the painted sphere; that on July 17, 1516, the officers of the Monte Comune directed the payment of fifty-six large gold florins to “Don Giuliani Vanegli” “in appreciation of his work, and as a reward for having made one of the two balls of the clock, which is in the large room of the Signoria, which ball he both designed and painted, showing on it the entire universe, according to Ptolemy and other authors who deal with the subject.” Fiorini notes that as at this time the terrestrial sphere was damaged it probably was several years old, and that if badly painted (male picta) the inference is, it failed to record the latest discoveries. If the exact date of the construction of the spheres which adorn this clock cannot be ascertained, it was at least before 1500.138

We have further evidence of Vannelli’s interest in globe construction contained in a letter dated Rome, November, 1524, and addressed to Cardinal Giovanni Salviati, a legate of Lombardy. “Your Excellency has asked me to make for you a small ballde situ orbis, of the size and character of that of Giovanni Ruccellai.... I have made the said ball, and have varnished it, but the weather being bad it will not be dry for eight or ten days.... Your Excellency also tells me that you would like to have a large globe similar to that of Mons. R. Rodulphis, which I have begun. If you desire that I should go on with the work, I shall willingly do so, putting aside all other work to serve you.”139

To the interest in globe making north of the Alps in the first quarter of the sixteenth century attention may next be directed. In a letter written by Johannes Trithemius to Vuilhelmus Veldicus Monapius, dated August 12, 1507, may be found an early allusion to globes. He says: “Orbem terrae marisqui et insularum quem pulchre depictum in Vuormotia scribis esse venalem, me quidem consequi posseobtarum, sed quadraginta pro illo expendere florenos, nemo mihi facile persuadet. Comparavi autem mihi, ante paucos dies, pro aere modico sphaeram orbis pulchram in quantitate parva ...” “I wanted to buy a finely painted globe of the earth, seas, and islands, which I wrote was for sale in Worms, but I could hardly be induced to give such a price for it as forty florins. I purchased, however, a few days since at a low price, a beautiful terrestrial globe of small size.”140He wrote further, “Henricum de Bunau dies vita audini defunctum, sed libros eius et globum cosmographiae quem alim comparavit ex officina tua remanisse apud Saxoniae Principes, quod tu existimas non audini.” “I am informed that Henry Bunau died some time ago, but I never heard it said that his books and the cosmographical globe which he bought in your work-shop remained with the Princes of Saxony, as you believe.”141It has been thought by some that the globe referred to as having been purchased in Worms was the globe of Waldseemüller.

Since the discovery in 1902 of the long-lost Waldseemüller maps of 1507 and of 1516 by Professor Joseph Fischer, S.J., in the library of Prince de Waldburg-Wolfegg (Fig.30), great interest has centered especially in the work of that early German map maker. As the new transatlantic discoveries of the Spanish and the Portuguese greatly quickened interest in geographical science and made necessary the construction of new maps in rapid succession, Germany, already a land in which the renaissance spirit had found an enthusiastic reception, and whose people were awake to every new interest, soon became a center for the spread of information concerning the new regions. Commercially important trade cities of this country had been for some time in intimate touch with the important maritime trade centers of Spain and Portugal. Word of the newest discoveries was quickly carried over the Alps to France andto Germany, and the latest publication of the writer on matters geographical had its references to the parts of the world newly found of which Ptolemy had not known.

Castle of Prince Waldburg de Wolfegg.Fig. 30. Castle of Prince Waldburg de Wolfegg.

Fig. 30. Castle of Prince Waldburg de Wolfegg.

One of the first German geographers of the century, and now justly famed as one of the most distinguished of the period, was Martin Waldseemüller (ca. 1470-1522 ca.), whose name, according to the practice of the time, was classicized as Hylacomylus.142So significant was the influence of Waldseemüller in the mapping of the New World that a somewhat detailed word concerning him may here well be given. When Duke René of Lorraine (1451-1508) became a patron of learning, with particular interest in cosmography or geography, the cartographical studies of the Germans began to have a place of far-reaching importance. It was under this enlightened duke that the little town of St. Dié became a center of culture. Here was organized the Vosgian Gymnasium,143a society of learned men not unlike the Platonic Academy of Florence or the Danubian Society, Vienna. Of this St. Dié coterie none was more prominent than Jean Bassin de Sandacourt,144the translator of the ‘Four Voyages’ of Amerigo Vespucci from the French into the Latin, Lud, the ducal secretary and author of an important little work of but few pages, which he called ‘Speculi orbis succinciss ...,’145and Waldseemüller, the professor of cosmography, the author of the ‘Cosmographiae Introductio ...,’146and a cartographer of great skill, who, with Ringmann, planned and carried well on toward completion, as early as 1507 or 1508, an edition of Ptolemy, which in 1513 was printed in the city of Strassburg.147It probably was as early as 1505 that the plan was under consideration for a new translation of Ptolemy from the Greek into the Latin, and that thought perhaps had its inspiration in the letters of Vespucci, in which he gave an account of his four voyages, and in the new chart which but recently had fallen into the hands of Ringmann. These charts, says Lud, in his ‘Speculum,’ came from Portugal, which, if true, leads one to the belief thatthey exhibited genuine Vespucian data.148Whatever the truth concerning the origin of these charts, that determination became a starting point for a most important evolution in cartographical history of the world.149In April, 1507, Waldseemüller had written to his friend, Amerbach, in Basel, “Non credo te latere nos Ptholomei cosmographiam, recognitio et adiectis quibusdam novis tabulis impressuros in oppido Divi Deodati.... Solidum quod ad generale Ptholomei paravimus nondum impressum est, erit autem impressum infra mensis spacium.”150“I think you know already that I am on the point of printing in the town of St. Dié (Lorraine), the Cosmography of Ptolemy, after having added to the same some new maps.... the globe comprising Ptolemy in general, which we have prepared, is not yet printed, but will be so in a month.” While great interest centers in these “new maps,” prepared for the proposed edition of Ptolemy, a greater interest now centers in the map to which Waldseemüller repeatedly alludes in the years 1507-1511, especially in his ‘Cosmographiae Introductio’ (Fig.31), which map it was the good fortune of Professor Joseph Fischer, S. J., to bring to light in the year 1902, as noted above.151In the dedication of his little book to the Emperor Maximilian, he says, “Hinc factū est ṽt me libros Ptholomei ad exēplar Grecū quorunda ope p virili recognoscēte & quatuor Americi Vespucii navigationū lustratioēs adiiciēte: totius orbis typū tā in solido q̄ȝplano (velut preuiam quandā ysagogen) p cōmuno studiosorū vtilitate parauerim.”152“Therefore studying to the best of my ability and with the aid of several persons, the Books of Ptolemy from a Greek copy, and adding the Relations of the Four Voyages of Amerigo Vespucci, I have prepared for the general use of scholars a map of the whole world, like an introduction, so to speak, both in the solid and on a plane.” Waldseemüller says further, wherein he gives a description of his new map, “Propositum est hoc libelloquandam Cosmographie introductionē scribere; quam nos tam in solido q̄ȝ plano depinximus. In solido quidem spacio exclusi strictissime. Sed latius in plano....”153“The purpose of this little book is to write a description of the world map, which we have designed, both as a globe and as a projection. The globe I have designed on a small scale, the map on a larger.”

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