Reduced version of Waldseemuller’s “modern” map of the world present in Laurent Fries’s issue of Ptolemy first issued in 1522.

This is one of two modern world maps included in Laurent Fries' editions of Ptolemy's Geographia. Many of the maps in Fries' atlas are derived directly from Ptolemy or reduced from larger maps published in 1513 by Martin Waldseemuller. This map is derived from Waldseemuller’s modern map, often called “The Admiral’s Map” and cited as the first “modern” map of the world due to its inclusion of parts of the New World.

It is believed that the parent map by Waldseemuller issued in 1513 was actually the first map of the atlas which was completed, possibly in 1505-6, accounting for the relative crudity and lack of detail on the New World. This reduced version by Fries exacerbates this issue; the reduction in size seems to have resulted in the New World shown only as two very small landmasses on the western edge of the map. Two place names are present on South America while Cuba and the Dominican Republic are no longer present. An inconsequential coastline is shown west of Greenland, representing the east coast of Canada.

The rest of the map follows Waldseemuller faithfully but with less place names, particularly in the Arabian Peninsula and the Indian sub-continent. Fries has removed the rhumb lines present on the Waldseemuller map, but does add five royal figures, representing the regional powers of Russia, Egypt, Taprobana, the old name of either Sri Lanka or Sumatra, Mursuli in the area of Thailand and a royal figure seated in the area of Africa often associated with the mythical Empire of Prester John.

There is also famously an elephant off the coast of Greenland but it is speculated that this was originally supposed to represent a walrus.

This is the 1541 edition of this map published by Gaspar Treschel in Vienne. [Shirley 49] [WLD4803]