Period

16th Century

Featured Items

Detail of a printed book shows a circular illustration and text in Spanish.

Suma de geographia...

Martin Fernandez de Enciso

1546

Detail of a hand colored manuscript map shows flags and place names along a coastal region.

[Early representation of Newfoundland, Lower California, the Amazon, and the Ladrones]

António Pereira

circa 1546

Detail of gold JCB stamp on black binding.

Principall navigations, voiages, and discoveries of the English nation

Edward Wright

1598

Detail of a colored manuscript atlas shows a coastal region and labels in Latin. Other details include drawings of castles and mountains.

[Portolan atlas] / Vesconte de Maiolo ciuis Janue conposuy

Vesconte Maggiolo

1511

Detail of a fold-out printed map shows town square in the center, surrounding buildings, and ships at sea at the outer perimeter.

Praeclara Ferdina[n]di.

Hernán Cortés

1524

Detail of a printed book shows full-page illustrations of plants. Text in Latin also visible.

Aromatum, et simplicium aliquot medicamentorum apud Indos

Garcia de Orta

1567

Detail of an engraved map shows mountainous topography and text in Italian.

Descrittione di tutto il Peru

Paulo di Forlani

circa 1564-1572

Detail of a colored manuscript map shows the Black Sea with labels. Decorative border includes red, blue, and green ink and gilded details.

Battista Agnese atlas

Battista Agnese

1543-1545

Lecture

Historia del libro en lenguas originarias de América

Tuesday, October 27 at 2:00pm

Image of Guaxtepec (relaciones geograficas)

Digital Item-of-the-Month

New Digital Item-of-the-Month series begins this week

October 5

Native Americans of present-day Mexico dance around two drummers

Picturing the Past: Indigenous Expressions in Colonial Mexico

Spring 2020

engraved map of the island of Hispaniola with present-day Haiti and Santo Domingo, including sea monsters, ships, and a compass

Map of the Month

L'isole piu famose del mondo…, 1572

February 25

JCB Fellow Juan Cobo Betancourt views an exhibition at the John Carter Brown Library

Meet a JCB Fellow

Juan Cobo Betancourt, Donald L. Saunders Fellow

November 25

Plan of the fort of the French in Guanabara Bay

Fellow's Talk

How French Poems Become English

Wednesday, February 13 at 4:00pm

America Meredith (Cherokee), London Calling 1762 (2012)