[Portolan atlas of the Mediterranean Sea, western Europe, and the northwest coast of Africa].

Pre - 1600s maps, atlases and manuscripts

The geography discoveries and the new printing techniques resulted in maps that can be cheaply produced. Since a globe remains the only accurate way of representing the spherical earth, and any flat representation resulted in distorted projection. In 1569, Mercator published a map of the world specifically intended as an aid to navigation. It used a projection now known by Mercator's name, though it has been used by few others before him, based on a system of latitude and longitude that dated back to Hipparchus. Mercator's projection greatly enlarged territories as they recede from the equator. The distortion of Mercator's projection is a benefit to navigators since Mercator achieves a matching scale for longitude and latitude in every section of the map. A compass course can be plotted at the same angle on any part of Mercator's map. As a result marine charts still use this projection. By the time of his death in 1595, Mercator has either published or prepared large engraved maps, designed for binding into volume form, of France, Germany, Italy, the Balkans, and the British Isles. Mercator's son issues the entire series under the title "Atlas": "Atlas sive Cosmographicae Meditationes." The name becomes the word for a volume of maps.

• Map, Available Online, 1590, [Portolan atlas of the Mediterranean ...
• 5. World map drawn on an oval projection | Library of Congress
• 1590 map of the World Stock Photo - Alamy
• Map Of The World, 1590 Photograph by Photo Researchers - Pixels
• 1590 Map World High Resolution Stock Photography and Images ...
• 5. World map drawn on an oval projection | Library of Congress
• 5. World map drawn on an oval projection | Library of Congress
• 1590 Map High Resolution Stock Photography and Images - Alamy
• Buy Michaels Antike Weltkarten Prints | Posterlounge.com
• Pin on OLD MAPS - Pinterest