National Institute of Standards and Technology Helps Preserve the 500-year-old Waldseemüller Map

This video portrays NIST’s construction of an encasement for the 1507 Waldseemüller Map, often called “America’s birth certificate” because it is the first map to label the lands of the new World as “America.” The three-minute video tells viewers of the explorer Amerigo Vespucci (America’s namesake) and of the map’s purchase by the Library of Congress. NIST’s design, manufacture, shipment and assembly of the encasement, base, frame and display structure as well as their match-up with the historic map are featured. Library of Congress and NIST officials also comment on the importance of the map to the nation. The Waldseemüller map is now on permanent exhibition in the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.

For more information, read the December 12, 2007 issue of
Tech Beat.

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