An antique map of the world by cartographer Matteo Ricci from 1602 that shows China at the center of the world is on display thru April 10th, 2010, at the Library of Congress in the United States.

The map symbolizes the first connection between Eastern and Western thinking and commerce, and gained the nickname the “Impossible Black Tulip of Cartography”. It also identifies Florida as “the Land of Flowers”.

More information on the Ricci map can be found in a news release from the Library of Congress.

An interesting article from Spacing Atlantic by Matt Neville describing famous cartographer Joseph Frederick Wallet DesBarres and his roles in Nova Scotia.

As the article notes, after arriving in North America in 1756:

DesBarres was soon mapping the St. Lawrence River and working on his charts in Halifax during the winter months while teaching mathematics, astronomy, and surveying to a young James Cook.

In 1760, DesBarres began mapping the Halifax Harbour in preparation for the construction of fortifications and dockyards. Over the next decade he would also complete detailed hydrological surveys of the coast. The Atlantic Neptune, a large collection of charts and views of the east coast of North America was the result of his work, first published in 1777, and has been his lasting legacy.

This is the 3rd installment of a series on explorations through maps of the Halifax region by Neville called [Re]Presenting Halifax:

The overall objective is to re-present the city within the historical and contemporary socio-political, spatial, and ecological dimensions and challenges in a manner that helps to reveal opportunities and contribute to a wider discussion on current conflicts, debates and developments.

The first article is called, “Exploring Halifax Through Mapping“, and the second is entitled, “Against The Grain“.

Here are two handy tools that might help pinpoint the possible age of your antique map or globe.

The first, How Old is Your Globe? from Replogle Globes is a chart where you find the former place name instead of the new name, you can then find the corresponding age.

The second is a PDF from CRAM: How Old Is My Map Or Globe.

After 5 years of testing the 15th Century Vinland Map of America, a Danish expert has declared the map to be genuine.

Controversy has swirled around the map since it came to light in the 1950s, many scholars suspecting it was a hoax meant to prove that Vikings were the first Europeans to land in North America — a claim confirmed by a 1960 archaeological find.

Rene Larsen, rector of the School of Conservation under the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, said his team carried out studies of the ink, writing, wormholes and parchment of the map, which is housed at Yale University in the United States. Among the team’s conclusions:

…claims the ink was too recent because it contained a substance called anatase titanium dioxide could be rejected because medieval maps have been found with the same substance, which probably came from sand used to dry wet ink.

Read the full article here.

Well-known antique map collector Jonathan Potter is retiring, and plans to sell off many of the antique maps in his catalog.

Antique maps for sale by Potter include:

• A 400-year-old map depicting Iceland entitled Islandia, published by Abraham Ortelius in the 16th Century for approx. $15,000 USD
• A globe by Mattaeus Greuter, produced in 1632 and priced at $180,000 USD (approx.)
• A double-hemisphere map of the world by John Speed
• An antique map of the moon, prepared in the 1720s by astronomer, geographer, mathematician and physicist, Johann Gabriel Doppelmayr for $3,000 USD (approx.)

Potter first became interested in antique maps 40 years ago, wandering the markets of London’s Portobello Road. Potter went on to establish his own gallery and amassed one of the largest collections of antique maps in the world, all of which are now for sale. The entire map collection is valued somewhere around $6 million USD.

Source: 400-year-old map collection for sale

The Texas Map Society’s Annual Spring Meeting will be held Friday thru Sunday, April 3-5, 2009 in San Antonio Texas.

This year’s focus is on Spanish Colonial Mapping and their Map Makers:

The three days will include presentations by a group of exceptional scholars focusing on “Spanish Colonial Mapping and Map Makers,” and an outstanding lineup of tours, dinners and events in and around one of Texas’ most famous tourist destinations.

Presenters include Richard Kagan, of John Hopkins University, our Keynote Speaker, as well as John Hébert of the Library of Congress, David Buisseret, formerly at the University of Texas at Arlington, Ricardo Padrón, at the University of Virginia, John Miller Morris of the University of Texas at San Antonio, John Wheat of the Center for American Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, and Bruce Winders, Curator and Historian of the Alamo.

Tours include the Project Urban Segment of the San Antonio River (60 million dollar improvement project), P2 Energy Solutions for digital mapping, and the Nelson Rockefeller Center for Latin American Art at the San Antonio Museum of Art.

Via: MapHist
[tags]texas map society, map societies, map collecting, antique maps[/tags]