A Mermaid's Vanity

a mermaid illustration on an old map
(Flemish cartographer Abraham Ortelius, first published in 1570. Reprinted with permission by British Library and the University of Chicago Press.)

A siren admires herself in a mirror—a sign of her vanity—amongst ships in the Southern Ocean on Pierre Descelier’s map from 1550. Other monsters can be seen on the surrounding land.
 

Tags: Maps