
Martin Waldseemuller's most famous map was published in 1507. The only surviving copy of the wall map is now kept at the United States Library of Congress.
The 1507 Waldseemuller Map is famous primarily for two things: it is the first known map to label the American continent "America," and it displays the Pacific Ocean (along with an uncanny depiction of the Western shore of South America).
The labeling of the New World as America is believed to have been in recognition of Amerigo Vespucci. This first use of the term disappeared after some time, but 1000 copies of Waldseemuller's map had already been created, and the name eventually came back into use.
Clearly the most puzzling part about Martin Waldseemuller's map is the depiction of the Pacific Ocean. According to known history, no Westerner had yet seen the West coast of America. It was common to believe that Columbus had discovered a portion of the Asian Indies. Despite this, Waldseemuller drew a vast ocean between Asia and America. Furthermore, he was able to very accurately depict much of the South American Pacific coast. This details have led some to question whether Waldseemuller was in poessession of a secret map, created by someone who had voyaged into the Pacific before 1507.
As stated previously, there were approximately 1000 wall maps created from the Martin Waldseemuller's 1507 map. A number of globe gores (sheets meant to be placed on a globe) were also created. Today, 4 of these globe gores still exist, but there is only one copy of the wall map. Three of the globe gores are located at the James Ford Bell Library of the University of Minnesota, the Bavarian State Library in Munich, and the Bibliothek Stadtbucherei Offenburg (a German public library), respectively. The fourth was sold at an auction for $1,002,267. The sole remaining wall map was discovered in 1901 at the Wolfegg Castle in Wurttemberg, Germany. It was purchased by the united States Library of Congress in 2001 for 10 million dollars, and is displayed at the Library.