Browsing by Author "Metcalf, Alida C."

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Amerigo Vespucci and the Four Finger (Kunstmann II) World Map
    (National Centre for Maps and Cartographic Heritage, 2012) Metcalf, Alida C.
    Is the anonymous painted map of the world, dated c. 1506 in the Bavarian State Library, also known as the "Four Finger" world chart, or as the Kunstmann II, authored by Amerigo Vespucci? The map was a privately-held, highly illuminated painted world map. Its execution implies a map-maker with access to up-to-date Spanish and Portuguese geographic knowledge, and who had likely travelled to the new world. This paper explores the evidence for attributing the authorship of the map to Amerigo Vespucci and asks if digital cartography can further resolve this question.
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    Mapping the Traveled Space: Hans Staden's Maps in Warhaftige Historia
    (Brown University, 2009) Metcalf, Alida C.
    By examining the map and map-like illustrations published in Hans Staden's Warhaftige Historia (1557), this article argues that the maps underscore the truthfulness of the narrator by reinforcing his role as an eyewitness observer. Beyond bolstering the narrator?s authority, Staden's map projects a distinctly different image of Brazil. The mapping tradition of mariners seems to have been a major influence, and the map accords ownership of the mainland to indigenous groups, making his a unique representation of sixteenth-century Brazil.
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    Water and Social Space: Using georeferenced maps and geocoded images to enrich the history of Rio de Janeiro's fountains
    (National Centre for Maps and Cartographic Heritage, 2014) Metcalf, Alida C.
    Water infrastructure is essential to any city, but especially so in the history of Rio de Janeiro. Historically, Rio de Janeiro lacked easy access to fresh water. Not only was it not situated along a river but it was impractical to dig wells over much of the original city because of marshes and a high water table. A single aqueduct completed in the eighteenth century supplied the city with water until the nineteenth century when additional aqueducts began to be built. By necessity, public fountains were vital for the city. The public spaces around fountains were frequented by many residents, the majority of whom were slaves responsible for the delivery of water. Using a geospatial database with georeferenced historical maps and geocoded historical images, this article explores the waterworks of the city of Rio de Janeiro in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, paying particular attention to the functional, monumental, and social aspects of fountains
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    Who Cares Who Made the Map? La Carta del Cantino and its anonymous maker
    (e-Perimetron, 2017) Metcalf, Alida C.
    This paper explores the authorship of the anonymous La Carta del Cantino through an analysis of design signatures. Using high resolution digital copies of charts in ArcGIS, La Carta del Cantino is compared to contemporaneous charts. The long-held assumption that La Carta del Cantino was a surreptitious copy of the Portuguese king’s royal pattern chart is rejected in favor of a more simple explanation: Alberto Cantino commissioned the world chart from a chartmaker in Lisbon, and that chartmaker was Pedro Reinel.