When Flemish engraver and publisher Theodore de Bry issued the first volume of his America series in 1590, the New World was, for most Europeans, truly novel. Gleaned from the travel accounts of adventurers like Thomas Harriot, Sir Francis Drake, and Sir Walter Raleigh, De Bry's magnificent engravings brought the new continent and its inhabitants to an enraptured audience across the Atlantic.
From "Virginia" (today's North...