In a new article this week for the online journal Coordinates, map librarian David Y. Allen raises concerns that the so-called “Velasco Map,” a widely known map of northeastern North America that purportedly dates to 1610, may in fact be a nineteenth-century forgery. From the article abstract:

The map contains numerous oddities, and many features on the map do not appear on other maps made in the early seventeenth century. Overall it seems anachronistic and it stands in isolation from other maps made around 1600. Although no single feature on the map proves beyond a doubt that it is a forgery, the overall weight of the evidence makes it seem highly probable that it is a fake. Tests on the paper, pigment, and handwriting of the map should be made to prove conclusively whether or not it is a forgery.

Read the article for the full treatment, and see also the commentary on Allen’s article by Kirsten Seaver. Via MapHist.