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Woodcut map. Hemisphere, 27x26.3 cm. (10¾x10½") plus titling & directions in the margins.

Important map of the Western Hemisphere, being the first printed map of the Americas to include any of the names from the travels of Francisco Vasquez de Coronado of 1540-42, issued in Ramusio's "Terzo Volume delle Navigationi et Viaggi," which contains an account of Coronado's explorations. Coronado was the first European to travel extensively in the southwestern part of North America, searching for the fabled cities of Cibola and Quivera. Although both the cities proved disappointing, his account of the southwest and descriptions of its geography were highly influential; "Quivera" appears here for the first time on a map, though the placement is awry. The "Sierra Neuadas" appear for the first time on a map, following the voyage of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, in 1542, when he sailed two vessels along the California coastline as far as Santa Barbara. Other significant features include the large island of "Giapam" in the western Pacific, perhaps the first appearance of Japan's modern name on a map. Wheat notes that the map "has been attributed to Giacomo Gastaldi." This is the second edition, first sate of the map. The first edition was printed by Thomaso Giunti in 1556, and the following year a fire destroyed his printing plant along with the block for this map and others. A new block was cut for the second edition of Ramusio's book, published in 1565. Burden notes of the 1565 block, "No changes were made to its geography" while citing the differences in the placement of the title and pagination.

Provenance: Nebenzahl, 5/66
 

References:  Burden 24; Wagner, NW Coast 35; Wheat Transmississippi 9.