One of the Earliest Obtainable Maps to Focus on South America! By: Linschoten, 1596

Delineatio Omnium Orarum Totius Australis Partis Americae, Dictae Peruvianae, a R. de la Plata, Brasiliam, Pariam, & Castellam . . .

By: Jan Huygen Van Linschoten

Date: 1596 (published) Amsterdam

Dimensions: 15.25 x 21.4 inches (38.7 cm x 54.4 cm)

This is an authentic, antique map South America by Jan Huygen Van Linschoten. The map was published out of Amsterdam in 1596 as part of Linchoten’s Itinerario and is one of the earliest maps to focus on the continent of South America.

This spectacular map of South America is one of the most ornate ever created as is an important early depiction of this great continent. The map is displayed on a horizontal axis with a westward orientation. To the right, Florida, the Caribbean, and part of Central America are shown with exceptional detail, including well over 100 place names. The far left portion of the map shows Terra del Fuego as part of a massive continent, separated from South America by the Strait of Magellan.

The entire coastline of the South American continent is filled with names of towns, capes, rivers, and ports. The interior or the continent is filled with false mountain ranges, river, and lakes, as well as vignettes of Patagonian giants, Brazilian cannibals, scenes of natives at war or on the hunt, and several other creatures, including a wild cat with a striped tail and a human face. What would be empty spaces in the map are embellished with sailing ships, sea monsters, a compass rose, and two elaborate title cartouches.

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