1/2 It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Tomasso Porcacchi’s 1572 map of Scotland features a huge fish with a frilly tail, a couple of dolphins, a sturgeon that looks like a sea turtle, and cherubim on the cartouche. And how about that compass! This map is held by a private collector.

1/2 It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Marco Boschini’s 1646 map of Dalmatia and Albania features several sea monsters, mermen, and cherubim. Quite a panorama! This map is held by Bibliothèque nationale de France.

1/2 It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Willem Janszoon Blaeu’s 1646 map of Asia has quite a few creatures, land and sea. My favorite is the Abyssinian dragon conferring with the snakes and the monitor lizard. Mermaids bookend a cartouche. This map is held by a private collector.

It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Jodocus Hondius and Gerard Mercator’s c1630 map of Morocco features an owl-like fish, whose fins make it look like a fire breather. Great lion in the cartouche. This map is held by the National Library of Israel.

It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Abraham Ortelius’s c1579 map of Portugal hosts a disheveled creature, who is definitely not ready to start the week. The map also features a cartouche with three lion heads, also in varying states of alarm. This map is held by a private collector.

1/2 It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Giacomo Franco’s 1569 map of Cyprus features this amazingly detailed sea dragon. Another legendary creature (not shown) lurks in the northwest. The Chimera was said to inhabit the area around Mount Chimaera, near Antalya, Türkiye.

It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Matthäus Meria’s 1638 map of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and environs features a cetacean spouting toward some passing ships. This map is held by a private collector.

It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Baptista Boazio, Walter Bigges, and one Lt. Croftes’s 1589 map of St. Augustine, Florida, hosts this great fish known by many names: Dorado, dolphinfish, mahi-mahi. Mmm, tacos. It also features Francis Drake’s raid on the settlement. This is held by the Library of Congress.

It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Marco Boschini’s 1651 map of St. Theodoro, off of Crete, features this… sea owl showing its threat display to a passing ship. This map is held by Bibliothèque nationale de France.

It’s #MapMonsterMonday! André Thevet’s 1586 map of Rio de Janeiro features a trio of beaky-looking beasts prowling the waters of Guanabara Bay. This map is held by Bibliothèque nationale de France.

1/2 It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Willem Janszoon Blaeu’s 1635 map of Africa features a wide range of beasts: a hippocampus, a spouting whale, a shark, and several more challenging to identify. I like the two creatures seemingly having a laugh. This map is held by Northwestern University Library.

It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Willem Janszoon Blaeu and Johannes Willemszoon Blaeu’s 1614-17 map of the Americas holds a couple of fearsome creatures in the Pacific and a pair of seemingly uncertain beasts in the Atlantic. Interpret how you may. This map is held by the U. of Texas at Arlington Libraries.

It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Lucas Janz Waghenaer’s 1588 map of the northernmost tip of Jutland (note the compass orientations) features a great fish and a curious seal. This map is held by the Royal Museums Greenwich.

1/2 It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Jan Huygen van Linschoten’s 1638 map of East and Southeast Asia features a fascinating array of creatures: A pair of sea beasts in apparent conversation, a spouting creature watching a sea battle, a curious shark tailing a ship, and a whale simply minding its business.

It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Theodore de Bry’s 1599 map of the North Atlantic features this creature seemingly annoyed by the placement of the meridian. This is pre-Greenwich, so Null Island is still secret. Shhh! This map is held by the New York Public Library.

It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Gerard Mercator’s 1596 map of Brittany and Normandy features this creature, who’s not quite ready to face the week. This map is held by the Library of Congress.

It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Ever heard of the Null Island Beast? Of course not. I just made it up! Jodocus Hondius’s 1625 map of Guinea. The creature is very near to the 0, 0 coordinate that we jokingly call Null Island. Bonus inset of São Tomé. This map is held by a private collector.

It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Marco Boschini’s 1651 map of Castel Protessa (on Crete) features this great fish surveying the coast. This map is held by Bibliothèque nationale de France.

It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Abraham Ortelius’s 1655 map of Malta features this incredulous sea monster with some impressive fins. “I don’t remember these islands being here!” This map is held by the Malta Study Center at the Hill Museum and Manuscript Library in Minnesota.

Rod is my copilot.

1/2 It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Giacomo Gastaldi and Giovambattista Ramusio’s c1560 map of Southeast Asia holds several finned and scaled creatures. The turtle seems to be enjoying it all. This map is held by the National Library of Israel.

1/2 It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Abraham Ortelius’s 1582 map of Terceira in the Azores hosts an array of seagoing beasts, as well as a lion, who looks alarmed by his placement above the scale bar. This map is held by Bibliothèque nationale de France.

1/2 It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Gerardus Mercator’s c1695 map of the Caucasus and surrounding features a Black Sea monster, not to be confused with the Caspian Sea Monster (look that one up!). There’s also someone hiding at the top of the cartouche.

1/3It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Willem Blaeu’s 1649 map of the world has a lot going on. Some familiar creatures like sharks, billfish, dolphins, and whales are present, but other less identifiable beasts are plying the waters, as well. This map is held by the National and University Library of Slovenia.

It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Jodocus Hondius’s c1640 map of the Americas features a couple of beasts prowling the Pacific. Also interesting is the inset connecting Australia and Antarctica as one. This map is held by the Library of Congress.

It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Gerard Mercator’s 1695 map of Arabia was based on the much earlier work of Ptolemy and features this beauty of a sea dragon, lurking offshore. This map is held by a private collector.

It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Willem Janszoon Blaeu’s 1631 map of Malacca features a pair of sea beasts, as well as some interesting green man-like beings in the title and inset cartouches. This map is held by the National Library of Israel. 1/2

It’s #MapMonsterMonday! John Wolfe and Jan Huygen van Linschoten’s c1598 map of west and southern Africa features a leviathan throwing shade at a passing ship, a triton and siren frolicking in a lake, and some very large snakes. This map is held by a private collector.

It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Jan Janssonius’s c1660 map of Syria features a spouting dolphin, some cartouche creatures (I really need to find out their proper name, as I keep coming across them), and some scale bar cherubim. This map is held by the National Library of Israel.

New guy! We’ll never be able to replace Mowgli, but we have a new little rascal. Meet Dandylion, Dandy for short. Dude loves chewing on dandelions, taking care of his big sis, and snuggles, lots of snuggles. He may look like the lead singer of a Scandinavian black metal band, but he’s much fluffier!

It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Tomaso Porcacchi’s 1620 map of Sicily features a smoldering Mt. Etna, as well as a sea goat and a couple serpents (one looks like a floppy-eared dog). This map is held by the Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation in Athens.

It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Matthäus Merian’s 1638 map of the Americas hosts a couple fish, probably shocked that it’s Monday, and an angry-looking face at the bottom of the cartouche. This map is held by Bibliothèque nationale de France.

1/3 It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Giacomo Gastaldi’s 1556 map of Sumatra is teeming with an array of sea creatures… and a pair of camels.

It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Marco Boschini’s 1651 map of Messára on Crete features a whale surveying the scene. I love Boschini’s bird’s eye perspectives. This map is held by Bibliothèque nationale de France.

1/2 It’s #MapMonsterMonday! John Wolfe’s 1598 map of southern Africa hosts a range of ferocious creatures. I love how elaborate some of the monsters are, but my favorite scene is with the two hippocampus frolicking in the interior lake. This map is held by a private collector.

1/2 It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Giacomo Gastaldi and Giovambattista Ramusio’s c1565 map of southern Asia and the Indian Ocean host an array of beasts… and quite a few snakes. Some of the creatures look like they’re not ready for the weekend to be over. This map is held by the National Library of Israel.

It’s #MapMonsterMonday! André Thevet’s 1581 map of Africa has sea monsters large, small, scaly, spiky, serpentine, and fierce. Quite an assortment! This map is held by Bibliothèque nationale de France. 1/3

Today, I had to say goodbye to one of the most amazing creatures I’ve ever known. He was so loved. Godspeed, Mowgli. ❤️

It’s #MapMonsterMonday! John Speed’s 1610-16 map of Cumberland features this sea pig, as well as a standard-bearing unicorn and lion. Seeing this, I’m convinced that speed had never seen a lion… This map is held by Bibliothèque nationale de France.

It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Marco Boschini’s 1651 map of Sitia on Crete hosts this creature, who’s not ready for Monday. Same, creature, same. This map is held by Bibliothèque nationale de France.

1/2 It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Tomasso Porcacchi’s 1620 map of Rhodes hosts quite an array of creatures: a serpent with huge ears, a couple of seemingly winged and beaked fish, and lots of dolphins. This map is held by the Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation in Athens.

It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Theodore de Bry’s 1594 map of portions of the Americas hosts a pair of beasts: a great fish or whale plying Golfo Mexicano and a dragon near the Bahamas. Beautiful colorizing on this one. This map is held by a private collector.

It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Jan Janssonius’s 1650 unusual map of Asia, Africa, and Europe has one obvious creature, the dolphin, but have a look in the margins…. Lots of cherubs, as well. This map is held by a private collector.

1/2 It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Giacomo Gastaldi and Giovanni Battista Ramusio’s c1565 map of the Indian Ocean and South Asia features a wispy fish, a crocodile(?), a shaggy sea dog, and a spouting fish with a couple of friends. Quite an assortment! This map is held by the National Library of Israel.

It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Eilhart Lubinus’s 1608 map of Rügen in the Baltic features several great beasts: a winged lion, a blue whale with its mouth open, a shark, and… is that a dragon? This map is held by the University and State Library of Saxony-Anhalt.

1/2 It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Matthäus Merian’s c1648 world map hosts an array of creatures plying the oceans: serpents, dragons, whales (including a narwhal), and a billfish.

It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Giacomo Gastaldi and Giovanni Battista Ramusio’s 1556 hemispherical map of the Americas is replete with fearsome sea beasts. 1/2

It’s #MapMonsterMonday! Gerardus Mercator and Henricus Hondius’s c1620 map of Denmark hosts an array of creatures: a toothy sea serpent, a sea turtle chased by a large-eared fish, and two beasts engaged in a splash fight. This map is held by a private collector.

My other calendar is pretty rad! @rocksonpaper.bsky.social

New Year, new calendar!