This image demonstrates the blend of mathematics and art during the Renaissance and demonstrates Leonardo's deep understanding of proportion. In addition, this picture represents a cornerstone of Leonardo's attempts to relate man to nature. Encyclopædia Britannica online states, "Leonardo envisaged the great picture chart of the human body he had produced through his anatomical drawings and Vitruvian Man as a cosmografia del minor mondo (cosmography of the microcosm). He believed the workings of the human body to be an analogy for the workings of the universe."
A truly monumental achievement, this is Adams' Illustrated Panorama of History. Measuring some 27 inches high and 260 inches long, this gigantic panoramic diagram charts the history of the world from a Biblical perspective, starting with the creation of Adam in 4004 B.C. and ending in 1878 (though projected into the future as far as 1900). Adams centers his chart on the 'Stream of Time' which is divided into decades and centuries. Initially he simply follows the Bible's 'begats,' but eventually he slowly segues into the historical period with the development of Egyptian, Persian, and Greek culture. He notes all important events and offers historical and biblical commentary where appropriate - often illustrating historical monuments and Biblical events and monstrosities. Eventually the map gets necessarily more and more complicated as it passes into the classical era, the pre modern era, and ultimately the modern times. At the end of the chart Adams shows the currently reigning world rulers, discusses the development of the United States, and even offers a breakdown of historically important technological developments. Adams' also interestingly attempts to reconcile Biblical with Global history, associating for example, Noah, with 'Yao,' a legendary figure in early Chinese mythology. This chart is so rich in detail and information that it is all but impossible to fully give it credit here, however, we encourage you to use the zoom engine above to thoroughly appreciate this remarkable document.
The amazing chart was drawn by Sebastian C. Adams of Salem, Oregon. This is the third edition, the first having been published in 1871. The chart was published by A. H. Walker, a prominent European publisher with offices in London and Paris. Printed in the United States by Strobridge & Co, lithographers of Cincinnati, Ohio. Extremely rare.
Ortelius' book of maps, first published in 1570, is considered the first modern world atlas. It was the first time that a set of maps, contemporary to the date of publication, was designed, drawn, and engraved with the intention of publishing them in a bound volume. Ortelius did not refer to his publication as an "atlas," as we know it today. Rather he entitled it "Theater of the World" implying not only that the entire known world could be viewed in this one book, but that the Earth was a stage on which human actions unfolded. Although most of the maps in this book pertain to European countries and provinces, it can be considered a world atlas because it also includes a map of the world (displayed here), as well as one map for each of the four continents. This world map was based on a large 21-sheet world map published by Ortelius' colleague, Gerard Mercator the year before. It displayed almost a century of European exploration in the Americas delineating relatively accurate coast lines in the Equatorial areas, but with greatly distorted shapes in southern South America and northern and western North America. Interestingly, the map prematurely showed a southern polar continent since the southern oceans had not yet been explored. The projected southern continent was based on the reports of Magellan sighting Terra del Fuego when he rounded the tip of South America and the accounts of early Dutch discoveries along the Australian coast. While the first edition of Ortelius' Theatrum Orbis Terrarum was published in Latin in 1570, this map book was subsequently issued in 33 editions over the next 41 years. It was also translated into six other languages -- German, Dutch, French, Spanish, Italian, and English. The success of this first "atlas" publication marked the beginning of the golden age of Flemish and Dutch cartography with cartographers from the Low Countries dominating the map trade until the end of the 17th century.
