Encased among the treasures of the John Carter Brown Library lies a document that may be "America's birth certificate," according to Ted Widmer, director of the JCB.
Over a century after its purchase, it is still unclear whether this map or one advertised by the Library of Congress as "The Map That Named America" is truly the first to include the name "America."
"The key is that the word America appears in both maps," Widmer said.
The two maps were crafted by German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller, who is credited with the naming of the new landmasses as "America." Rather than name the region after Christopher Columbus, he chose instead to honor Amerigo Vespucci, an Italian explorer.
The JCB map was purchased from British book dealer Henry Stevens, who claimed it was the first map ever to ascribe the word "America" to the territory after its discovery, Widmer said. Shortly after Stevens sold the map to the JCB, a much larger and more complete version of the Waldseemüller map was found in a German castle in the possession of Prince Waldburg-Wolfegg.
"The real issue is which shows America first," said John Hebert, chief of the Geography and Map Division of the Library of Congress.
The Library of Congress purchased its map in 2003 for $10 million. It is on permanent display in the Thomas Jefferson Building in Washington, D.C. The map consists of 12 panels and is exhibited as "The Map That Named America." It is accompanied by a booklet that was discovered with it and authenticates its creation in 1507, Hebert said.
The maps are drastically different in size, appearance and completeness, with the Library of Congress' map being the more finished piece, Widmer said.
According to Hebert, the Library of Congress' map includes a more complete configuration of South America and the Caribbean and shows the Pacific Ocean as its own body of water for the first time.
In contrast, the JCB map is the size of one of the 12 panels of the Library of Congress map and is far more rudimentary, resembling a draft document, Widmer said. He said he thinks these details suggest the JCB map came first.
"One would think the cruder map would come before," Widmer said. He said if the two maps are in fact from the same time, the JCB map is likely the earlier, "in which case, ours is the first document ever in human history to use the word 'America.' "
Stevens wrote a book using "technical" evidence in an effort to prove the JCB map was created first, but Widmer said more proof is necessary. He added that Stevens had a vested interest in confirming that the map was the earlier document because he had sold it to the JCB for a large sum.
Though Stevens claimed the JCB map was also created in 1507, Hebert and the Library of Congress said the map is more likely to be part of an atlas Waldseemüller created in 1513.
"The honest truth, which I feel is important to get out there . . . is that we don't know," Widmer said. "But even that is good for us, because most people just think that it's very cut and dry and they have the first map and they're not aware that we have a very interesting similar map that might in fact be earlier."
