Drawn from the collection of Henry and Holly Wendt at the Sonoma County Museum, this exhibition presents thirty of the very first printed world maps, illustrating the ways in which early Renaissance Europe came to comprehend world geography. Envisioning the World challenges us to examine the conceptual and philosophical framework behind the maps that mark our understanding of geography. The Wendt maps offer a visual means of understanding much of Western intellectual history: the knowledge of the ancient Greeks and the lasting importance of classical sources; the pervasive influence of religion over early mapmaking; the revelations derived from the voyages of explorers; and the rise of scientific thought.

An online description of the exhibition can be found at http://blogs.princeton.edu/rbsc/2013/05/28/envisioning-the-world/.