[The Leardo map of the world, 1452 or 1453]

Medieval European manuscript map of the world on vellum with Jerusalem at the center and east toward the top. "Johanes Leardus de Venetteis me fezit abano domini 145[?]" -- written in lower right corner. Includes illustrations, text and encircling diagrams detailing the Venetian calendar, phases of the moons, etc. The oldest world map held at the AGS Library is the Leardo Mappamundi. This is one of three known world maps signed and dated by the fifteenth century Venetian cartographer, Giovanni Leardo. The two others, that are similar but not identical, are located at the Biblioteca Comunale in Verona, Italy and the other at the Museo Civico in Vicenza, Italy. The map depicts the parts of the world known to Europeans in the late Middle Ages. It is considered the finest example of a medieval mappamundi preserved in the Western Hemisphere. Indexed in: Manuscript and annotated maps in the American Geographical Society Library: a cartobibliography.

Little is known about the 15th-century Venetian geographer and cosmographer Giovanni Leardo, beyond the fact that three of his world maps have survived from late-medieval times, signed by their creator. This is the oldest world map held in the American Geographical Society Library, and it is considered the finest example of a medieval mappamundi in the Western hemisphere. Leardo’s two other maps, similar but not identical, are in Italy, at the Biblioteca Comunale in Verona and the Museo Civico in Vicenza. The map depicts the parts of the world known to Europeans in the late Middle Ages — Europe, Asia, and Africa — and, as on many medieval wall maps, shows Jerusalem at the center and east towards the top. Archer M. Huntington purchased and presented the map to the American Geographical Society in 1906. In 1928 the society published a full-size color facsimile and an accompanying text by John K. Wright, The Leardo Map of the World: 1452 or 1453. Wright’s work was essentially a detailed d

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