496 years old:

The New York Times has an editorial about the Library of Congress' purchase of the world map compiled by Martin Waldseemüller in 1507. The Times notes that: "The map is the first to correctly show that America is a separate continent, and the name "America" — a tribute to the Italian navigator Amerigo Vespucci — is printed across what we now call Brazil." and that "The Library of Congress has been trying to acquire the Waldseemüller map since 1903."

Better late than never. For an image of the map, click here.

posted by Quiddity at 6/20/2003 07:35:00 AM