Message #183670

[Kumbalek]

The map itself seems also to have made a powerful impression on none other than Nicholas Copernicus, who began his landmark On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres by describing America as he saw it depicted on the map, and who then went on to argue that the existence of a fourth part of the world meant that the traditional model not only of the earth but also the cosmos would have to be rethought.

For the only surviving copy of the map that not only gave America its name and introduced the New World to Europe but also helped Copernicus rethink the cosmos, $10m seems a very reasonable price to pay.

Toby Lester is the author of The Fourth Part of the World, which tells the story of the Waldseemuller map, published by Profile Books.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8328878.stm