Found a map from the 1600s at a garage sale in Vermont that had California as an island

Tbh I stopped at this random garage sale outside Burlington last Saturday and found a reproduction of a 1622 map where California is drawn as a separate island floating off the coast. Ngl it blew my mind because I never knew early cartographers actually thought the Gulf of California was a strait leading to the Pacific. Has anyone else seen old maps with crazy geographic mistakes like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

jamiesingh2d ago

That 1622 map is wild, but have you seen the old maps where they just straight up drew sea monsters in the empty ocean spaces? Makes you wonder if the cartographer was just bored or actually trying to warn people about something. Also, random question - did the seller give you any info on where the original was printed, or was it just "here's a cool old map, pay me"? Because the printing location could tell you a lot about how that island myth spread (like if it came from a Dutch or Spanish mapmaker, since they had different theories about the coast).

the_robert2d ago

Man, I used to totally roll my eyes at old maps with sea monsters. I figured it was just artists messing around because they had blank space to fill. But honestly, hearing you put it that way kinda flipped a switch for me. What if those guys actually knew something we don't, or were trying to pass along warnings about dangerous waters? And you're dead right about the printing location being the real clue, a Dutch printer would have a totally different agenda than a Spanish one when it came to making up islands.