Posts from — August 2006

 Ireland’s Historical Mapping Archive, an online searchable map archive and database with details of every town, street, and farm dating back nearly 200 years, is open for business. The site is expected to be a wealth of information for those tracing their Irish ancestry. The site’s database and archives will only be available on a pay basis (about $6/day). The maps themselves were the result of Ordnance Survey Ireland’s completion of the world’s first large-scale mapping of an entire country, conducted between 1829 and 1842. The maps span two timeframes, from 1824 to 1847, and from 1888 to 1913 and show a high degree of detail. While the slant of the site leans towards genealogical research, it contains some wonderful examples of some of the finest cartography ever done, so it may be of interest to cartophiles as well.

Via MAPS-L. See the original Boston Globe article here.

[tags]Ireland Historic Maps, Cartography, Cartographic History, Antique Maps[/tags]

The Old Map Gallery provides a concise page of tips for prospective antique map collectors. Areas covered include, “Factors Affecting Value”, “Condition”, “Coloring”, “Reproductions” and “Reference Material”.  Some of the “Factors Affecting Value” include:

1. Region depicted
2. Historical importance
3. Size
4. Rarity
5. Age
6. Aesthetic qualities

In the section on “Condition” covers how things such as margins (or lack thereof) can affect antique map condition and hence, its value. The same section also shows how common defects in antique maps such as tears, stains, creases and backings can be detrimental to antique map condition.

“Coloring” notes a differentiation between contemporary color and modern color on antique maps. 

Tips are also offered on detecting reproductions and what one should look for in terms of size, folds and plate marks, colours, legends, paper and the natural aging process.

The site advises:

…buy a map or two you find interesting. Try to learn about the map. Who published it how and when? What information does it contain that is interesting? Why? What is omitted? The collector would be surprised how much can be learned from this approach.

[tags]Antique Map Collecting, Cartographic Terminology, Map Collecting Tips[/tags]

I did a little more digging around the web on Jeffrey S. Murray, author of Terra Nostra 1550 – 1950: The Stories Behind Canada’s Maps (see earlier post.) Mr. Murray, a senior archivist at Library and Archives Canada (LAC), has contributed to the LAC’s cartographic holdings for over twenty years. He is responsible for many specialized guides, public exhibitions, and magazine articles.

I was fortunate enough to run across Murray’s tidy online tutorial, “Looking at Old Maps: The World Through the Eyes of Early Mapmakers” at LAC. While the tutorial might seem fairly rudimentary to some, to a beginner antique map junkie like myself, it offers some explanations and ideas for interpreting the interesting (and sometimes, at first sight, bizarre) graphics that appear on many 16th and 17th century New World maps.

In many antique maps, there is a realistic portrayal of wildlife and First Nations peoples juxtaposed against illustrations of sea monsters and Greek and Roman mythology. The symbology used, Murray postulates, actually says a lot about cartographers during an age where maps probably acted as clever marketing tools that promised fame and fortune to early merchant-adventurers, guided military commanders, legitimized a politician’s dominion and helped early settlers build communities.

There were a lot of “terra incognita” (latin for “unknown lands”) and cartographers were faced with the dilemma of filling in these blank spaces in their maps. Cartographers were often going on notes of explorers, (relatively few cartographers actually went on expeditions) so:

The solution of the mapmakers was to fill the gaps in their masterpieces with drawings of plants, animals and Indigenous peoples, going beyond strict mapmaking to provide an impression of the region’s geography.

Meanwhile, cartographers tended to overuse the images of some animals while ignoring others, often getting the comparative scale and portrayal of much wildlife incorrect. 

Murray provides a few great (and sometimes humourous) examples. A quick download of a MrSID browser plug-in provides exceptional detail of some antique map scans.

[tags]Cartographic History, Cartographic Terminology, Map Terms, Antique Maps, Antique Map Tutorials[/tags]

I watched this CBS news feature on Sunday Morning (scroll down to the ‘Search Results’) a few weeks ago, and was pleasantly suprised to see that it is archived online. Using the restoration and reopening of my living room the New York Public Library’s map room as a backdrop, the all-too-brief segment reports on the world of maps, map dealers, and even a map thief (guess who!) You will need Windows Media Player or RealPlayer to watch.

[tags]Antique Maps, Antique Map Collecting, Cartography[/tags]

The co-creator of the first global map of the ocean floor and and co-discoverer of the central rift valley that runs through the Mid-Atlantic Ridge Marie Tharp, former geologist and oceonographic cartographer with the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, at Columbia University, New York, died Wednesday August 23 at the age of 86.  From the Observatory’s web site tribute:

Only in recent years has Tharp begun to be recognized for the breadth and significance of her contributions to science. In 1998 she was honored during the 100th anniversary of the Library of Congress’ Geography and Map Division. The following year, she was recognized by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. In 2001 she was honored by her home institution with the Lamont-Doherty Heritage Award. Today, a fellowship at Lamont-Doherty to promote women in science through the ADVANCE program bears her name.

The Journal News reports that the Library of Congress is assuming possession of all the documentation — photos, letters, charts, and everything that contributed to Ms. Tharp’s map making over the years.

An earlier article by the Library of Congress regarding Tharp’s methods can be read here.

[tags]Marie Tharp, Oceonography, Famous Cartographers, Cartography, Cartographic History[/tags]

Yesterday, CCAer of the CCA Blog reviewed: Terra Nostra 1550 – 1950: The Stories Behind Canada’s Maps by Library and Archives Canada (LAC) employee Jeffrey S. Murray. According to CCAer, Murray does not simply focus on the highlights of the LAC’s 1.5 million map holdings, but instead:

…takes a moderately successful approach to highlighting the holdings of Library and Archives Canada by looking at time periods and trends.

The book has four broad areas of focus which he entitles “Envisioning Canada,” “Perfecting Our Cities,” “Finding Our Way,” and “Scaling the Landscape.” Each of these areas is further subdivided into more specific chapters that look at a specific type of mapping or period in Canada’s cartographic history. By doing so, Murray provides a light but interesting sketch of history of mapping in Canada.

CCAer does not appear to be overly impressed with the book, nor with the fact that Murray only covers mapmaking up until 1950. (Just a guess, but perhaps the focus of the book was more on antique maps and antique mapmaking techniques? Or maybe 400 years was just a nice round number?) Still, if I had a xmas stocking, I would like this book to be in it, then I could judge for myself.

[tags]Antique Maps, Antique Map Books, Cartography, Cartographic History[/tags]