Only at the National Library of Australia

Date 7 Nov 13 – 10 Mar 14
Time 10:00am – 06:00pm
Free

Mapping our World is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see rare and unique cartographic treasures from around the world. Discover how European explorers unravelled the secrets of the great south land.

Highlights of the exhibition include the magnificent Fra Mauro Map of the World; the remarkable Boke of Idrography presented to Henry VIII; an intricate world map by the Benedictine monk Andreas Walsperger (1448); a fifteenth-century Ptolemy manuscript; magnificent and controversial ‘Dieppe’ charts; one of only four surviving copies of Mercator’s groundbreaking 1569 projection, and original manuscript charts by Pacific navigators including Louis de Freycinet, James Cook and Matthew Flinders.

Help us preserve Blaeu's 'Archipelagus Orientalis' (1663) 

Help us preserve Joan Blaeu's rare wall map, Archipelagus Orientalis, sive Asiaticus(Eastern and Asian archipelago) 1663 - one of only four surviving copies in the world.

Overview of 'Mapping Our World' at the National Library of Australia

Plan your visit

Opening hours

Getting to the Library

Bookplate cafe

Bookshop

Venue hire

Visitor facilities

The National Library of Australia acknowledges Australia’s First Nations Peoples – the First Australians – as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of this land and gives respect to the Elders – past and present – and through them to all Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Cultural Notification

Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are advised that this website contains a range of material which may be considered culturally sensitive including the records of people who have passed away.

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