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The Cantino Planisphere

Name: The Cantino Planisphere
Brand: Cartographer’s Dream
SKU: PA-00312

Anonymous Portuguese cartographer, 1502

Cartographer’s DreamPA-00312Tear sheet

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No print size passed the check for this piece: at 10 x 8 in, Wrong shape: a 41% crop. We would rather show it than sell a soft print.

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Portugal's discoveries were a matter of national security — so when Alberto Cantino, an agent of the Duke of Ferrara, wanted the newest map of the world, he had it smuggled out of Lisbon. The result is one of the earliest surviving charts of the Age of Discovery, showing the coasts of Africa, India, and a startlingly fresh Brazil, split by the Line of Tordesillas along which the Pope had divided the unknown world between two crowns. Espionage, empire, and an ocean of green paint.

Maker: Anonymous Portuguese cartographer
Date: 1502
Medium of the original: Plate
Original held by: Biblioteca Estense, Modena
Credit: Biblioteca Estense, Modena
Rights: Public domain, verified
Catalogue number: PA-00312

Before a size goes on sale, the file is measured against it: pixels per inch at that size, how much of the picture a crop would lose, tone and sharpness. A size that fails is not offered, so there is nothing to choose wrong.

How the print check works

Sizes withheld
Size	Why
10 x 8 in	Wrong shape: a 41% crop
12 x 8 in	Wrong shape: a 30% crop
14 x 11 in	Wrong shape: a 40% crop
16 x 12 in	Wrong shape: a 37% crop
18 x 12 in	Wrong shape: a 30% crop
20 x 16 in	Wrong shape: a 41% crop
24 x 16 in	Wrong shape: a 30% crop
24 x 18 in	Wrong shape: a 37% crop
30 x 20 in	Wrong shape: a 30% crop
30 x 24 in	Wrong shape: a 41% crop
36 x 24 in	Wrong shape: a 30% crop
40 x 30 in	Wrong shape: a 37% crop
48 x 36 in	Wrong shape: a 37% crop
60 x 40 in	Wrong shape: a 30% crop