Nineteenth-century reproduction of a seventeenth century print, showing a large whale with stovepipe-like blowholes and a ship, altar, and praying men upon its back; the whale and five ships and boats are shown among islands off the Atlantic (not shown to scale) including the Isle of St. Brandano, the Canary Islands, and Insulae Fortunae; on the right are Spain and Africa. In the lower margin is printed "From Philopono's Nova Typis 1621" and "The Whale assists in the Discovery of New Worlds"; the modern typeface and paper indicate that this is not the 1621 original.
The altar and praying men is a reference to one of the stories of St. Brendan, who lived in 6th c. Ireland, which describes the saint building an altar on the back of a sleeping whale.
Labeled "Pl. V"
