{"id":1819679,"date":"2023-11-02T19:38:09","date_gmt":"2023-11-02T23:38:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/?p=1819679"},"modified":"2023-11-02T19:38:09","modified_gmt":"2023-11-02T23:38:09","slug":"estate-sale-map-turns-out-to-be-rare-14th-century-portolan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2023\/11\/estate-sale-map-turns-out-to-be-rare-14th-century-portolan\/","title":{"rendered":"Estate Sale Map Turns Out to Be Rare 14th-Century Portolan"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"A
Rex Tholomeus Portolan Chart, ca. 1360. Vellum, 1141 \u00d7 686 mm. Barry Lawrence Ruderman Antique Maps.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Los Angeles Times<\/em> has the story<\/a> of a map that turned out to be far older and more valuable than anyone expected. Ann<\/a> and Gordon Getty<\/a> paid \u00a356,600 for a portolan chart in 1993, restored it and put it on display in their home. After Ann died in 2020, Alex Clausen of Barry Lawrence Ruderman Antique Maps<\/a> paid $239,000 for it at the estate sale. The map was dated to 1500-1525, but Clausen suspected it was older and therefore even more valuable. Hundreds of hours of research and lab tests determined a new date: circa 1360, making it the oldest portolan chart in the U.S. and the fourth oldest portolan chart known overall. As for how much more valuable, Ruderman thinks it\u2019s worth a lot<\/em> more than $239,000: they\u2019re listing it for $7.5 million. They\u2019ve named it the Rex Tholomeus Portolan Chart, after the single human figure appearing on the map, and you can see the listing<\/a> and read the 49-page catalogue (PDF)<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Los Angeles Times has the story of a map that turned out to be far older and more valuable than anyone expected. Ann and Gordon Getty paid \u00a356,600 for a portolan chart in 1993,… More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"link","meta":{"autoblue_enabled":true,"autoblue_custom_message":"","autoblue_shares":[],"autoblue_post_url":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,211],"tags":[366],"class_list":["post-1819679","post","type-post","status-publish","format-link","hentry","category-antique-maps","category-map-collecting","tag-portolan","post_format-post-format-link"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1787573,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2019\/08\/first-you-make-the-maps\/","url_meta":{"origin":1819679,"position":0},"title":"First You Make the Maps","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"8 August 2019","format":"link","excerpt":"First You Make the Maps, a Story Map produced for Lapham\u2019s Quarterly by Elizabeth Della Zazzera, surveys maps and mapmaking for sea navigation from the 15th through the 18th centuries. From the fifteenth to the eighteenth century, European powers sent voyagers to lands farther and farther away from the continent\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Antique Maps"","block_context":{"text":"Antique Maps","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/antique-maps\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/portolan-vallseca-1024x644.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/portolan-vallseca-1024x644.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/portolan-vallseca-1024x644.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/portolan-vallseca-1024x644.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1833772,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2024\/08\/multispectral-analysis-reveals-lost-details-on-a-16th-century-portolan-chart\/","url_meta":{"origin":1819679,"position":1},"title":"Multispectral Analysis Reveals Lost Details on a 16th-Century Portolan Chart","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"27 August 2024","format":"link","excerpt":"Excerpt from an enhanced version of Bartolomeu Velho\u2019s portolan chart of the east coast of North America, ca. 1560. Compare with the original. Library of Congress. The Library of Congress reports on how its Preservation Research and Testing Division used multispectral imaging to bring out previously illegible place names on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Antique Maps"","block_context":{"text":"Antique Maps","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/antique-maps\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/loc-portolan-multispectral.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/loc-portolan-multispectral.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/loc-portolan-multispectral.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/loc-portolan-multispectral.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/loc-portolan-multispectral.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/loc-portolan-multispectral.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1786928,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2019\/01\/geolounge-looks-at-medieval-maps-and-travel-guides\/","url_meta":{"origin":1819679,"position":2},"title":"GeoLounge Looks at Medieval Maps and Travel Guides","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"7 January 2019","format":"link","excerpt":"Over at\u00a0GeoLounge, Caitlin has a brief and basic overview of medieval maps and travel guides, including T-O maps, travel guides for pilgrims, mappae mundi, and portolan charts. As she points out, only the last of these even attempted to be geographically accurate; the others had other purposes.","rel":"","context":"In "Antique Maps"","block_context":{"text":"Antique Maps","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/antique-maps\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5355,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2017\/10\/the-avignon-chart\/","url_meta":{"origin":1819679,"position":3},"title":"The Avignon Chart","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"20 October 2017","format":"link","excerpt":"Though I haven't seen it, the most recent issue of Maps and History reports on the discovery of a fragment of an early portolan chart in the departmental archives of the Vaucluse. The so-called Avignon Chart (Carte d'Avignon) dates to around 1300, making it one of the earlier portolan charts\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Antique Maps"","block_context":{"text":"Antique Maps","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/antique-maps\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/carte-avignon-189x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1249,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2016\/03\/international-workshop-on-portolan-charts\/","url_meta":{"origin":1819679,"position":4},"title":"International Workshop on Portolan Charts","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"18 March 2016","format":"link","excerpt":"The program for the First International Workshop on the Origin and Evolution of Portolan Charts, which takes place 5-6 June 2016 in Lisbon, Portugal, is now live. The conference focuses on\u00a0the history of portolan charts and\u00a0the analytical techniques used\u00a0to study them. [via]","rel":"","context":"In "Antique Maps"","block_context":{"text":"Antique Maps","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/antique-maps\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"maggiolo-portolan","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/maggiolo-portolan-1024x672.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/maggiolo-portolan-1024x672.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/maggiolo-portolan-1024x672.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/maggiolo-portolan-1024x672.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1805447,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2021\/11\/piri-reis-map-back-on-display\/","url_meta":{"origin":1819679,"position":5},"title":"Piri Reis Map Back on Display","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"19 November 2021","format":"link","excerpt":"The Piri Reis map is back on display at the Topkap\u0131 Palace in Istanbul. Like the Tabula Peutingeriana, it\u2019s only taken out for display at intervals to protect it from the elements. Discovered when the palace was being converted into a museum in the 1920s, the map is the western\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Antique Maps"","block_context":{"text":"Antique Maps","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/antique-maps\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/piri-reis-221x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1819679","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1819679"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1819679\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1819684,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1819679\/revisions\/1819684"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1819679"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1819679"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1819679"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}