Ptolemy's Geography and Renaissance Mapmakers
Newberry Library, Chicago (Upcoming!)
November 3, 2007 - February 16 2008

Claudius Ptolemy, the 2nd Century CE Greek astronomer, is known as the father of modern geography. Ptolemy provided instructions for using latitude and longitude to depict the earth as a sphere on paper and compiled tables of coordinates for places in the known Greek world. A revival of Ptolemy’s work during the 15th and 16th centuries led to the creation of maps that at first bore only a slight resemblance to the modern world. This exhibition draws on the Library’s beautiful and internationally renowned collection of printed editions of the Geography to show how Renaissance mapmakers slowly transformed Ptolemy’s work from an ancient text to the foundation for Renaissance atlases. By the end of this era, geographers had created an expanded, modern atlas that relied on new information as well as on the revered work of Ptolemy.

Get more info here