Shown here is the titlepage from a reprint of the Roman geographer Pomponius Mela's Description of the World. He described the world as it was perceived by the ancient Romans. His work is presented as a circumnavigation of the known world at that time, including the continents of Africa, Asia and Europe. The outer edges of all the continents remained unfamiliar to the Romans, and it was here that creatures of mythology were believed to exist. Mela included historical, cultural, mythological as well as geographical information in his work, and numerous copies and translations circulated throughout Europe during this age of exploration.
Bound with this copy is Aethici Cosmographi by Henricus Glareanus.
Gift of Philip M. Arnold.

Robert Morden was a geographer and a prolific maker of maps and globes. Displayed here are maps from the first edition of his Geography Rectified. This geographical primer was reprinted in 1688, 1693, and 1700. In addition to containing a small world map depicting both hemispheres, the work contains 75 regional maps including one of America and Virginia and Maryland.