Vincenzo Coronelli - [Globe gore featuring North American coastline]

Displayed here is a globe gore (segments of paper printed with map images and cut to fit over the globe's sphere) showing North America's northeast coast and the North Atlantic. The gore is the work of Coronelli, a member of the Franciscan Order in Venice and the most prolific globe maker at the end of the 17th century. He made globes of all sizes, including his largest globe, with a diameter of 15 feet, which was presented to France's King Louis XIV. With place names in Italian, there are some familiar geographical features, although not necessarily applied to their correct historical locations: New York (Il Nouvo Jorck applied to the Hudson River and southern New England), New England (Nouva Inghilterra applied only to eastern Massachusetts), Boston (identified as Briston) and Cape Cod (interestingly labeled N. Hollan).
Courtesy of Boston Public Library