The Beccario Map of 1426
The second map on Nordenskiöld’s New World list is “Becharius 1426,” a Latinization of the surname of Battista Beccario and at least not so weird a transformation as Humboldt’s “Beclario or Bedrazio.” Apparently the year of this map has not been doubted, but there is a lack of first-hand evidence that the original contains Antillia. No reproduction of this map had been published prior to the writer’s paper on St. Brendan’s Islands in the July, 1919, Geographical Review, nor, so far as is known, has its extreme western part been copied in any way. The section there reproduced, and herewith reprinted only slightly curtailed ([Fig. 3]), is one of several sent me in response to arrangements, made before the war, for a photograph of the map, but by some mistake the very portion that would have been conclusive was omitted, and all attempts to remedy the error have failed. But, if there were any inscription concerning recently discovered islands located as in his later map, some part of it at least would probably be seen on what I have; and for this and other reasons I do not believe that Antillia is delineated or named on the Beccario map of 1426.