WASHINGTON, June 3, 1976 (UPI) - The king and queen of Spain presented to the Smithsonian Institution today a Bicentennial loan of 39 priceless documents and artifacts relating to Christopher Columbus and his discovery of the New World. Entitled "Christopher Columbus and his Time," the exhibit representing the historical roots of America nearly 500 years ago will be open to the public for the rest of the year at the Smithsonian's National Museum of History and technology.
The exhibit includes one of Spain's great historic documents, the first map of the New World, drawn on ox hide in 1500 by Juan da la Cosa, a navigator and geographer who was master of the Santa Maria on Columbus' first voyage in 1492.
Other exhibit materials - all drawn from libraries, museums, churches and private collections throughout Spain at the King's request - include the first letter Columbus wrote in the New World, dated Jan. 4, 1493.
Also displayed are seven books Columbus took along on his voyage, one of which includes a map of Hispaniola which some scholars believe was drawn by Columbus. Another is a book written by explorer Marco Polo, with Columbus' handwritten notes in the margins.
An impressive feature of the exhibit is a wrought iron pulpit, more than nine feel tall, from which the royal decree of Kind Ferdinand and Queen Isabella was read announcing the first voyage of manned ships for the discovery of the most distant routes of the Atlantic Ocean.
Also included are letters exchanged by Columbus and the king and queen, as well as two royal decrees signed by Ferdinand and Isabella lent by a direct descendant of Columbus.
President Ford said yesterday "a new era" opened in Spain with the accession to the throne of King Juan Carlos I.
