Carta Marina Sea Monster Map, 1572

The story of this map

Olaus Magnus was a Swedish churchman living in exile in Italy when he drew the Carta Marina, the first detailed map of Scandinavia, in 1539. It is remembered less for its coastlines than for what he put in the water: a sea crowded with serpents, spouting whales, a great lobster-like beast and sailors going about their business in the middle of it all. This print is from the 1572 edition engraved in copper and published in Rome by Antonio Lafreri, held by the National Library of Sweden and shared through the Library of Congress.

Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland and the Baltic are all here, with forests, castles and reindeer on land and the famous menagerie offshore. The Lafreri engraving is finer and more compact than the original woodcut, which is exactly why it frames so well: at 24 x 36 inches every monster is still readable from across a room.

It is a map people smile at, and that makes it an easy gift. Sailors, Scandinavians, anyone with a coastal cottage, a child’s bedroom with a taste for dragons, a bathroom that needs something with a bit of wit.

It sits in our Antique World Maps collection as the sheet everyone asks about, and it pairs well with the Münster and Ortelius maps from the same century. Each print is made to order on archival matte paper and framed in the country of delivery.

Before and after

Left: the archive scan exactly as published. Right: the file that goes to the printer.

Archive scanRestored

Restoration notes

Restoration plan: the map is printed on two sheets joined together, so align and blend the join and match tone across the seam. Crop scan margins, balance colour cast and levels while keeping the paper tone and colour, remove library stamps and scanner artefacts if present, gentle sharpening. No repainting of original content.

Every print carries its archive credit on the packing slip. Paper tone and small imperfections of the original are kept on purpose; nothing is redrawn.