I ran across this all-to-brief, but highly entertaining 1953 film of cartographic history, brought to us courtesy of the British Ordnance Survey. Perhaps an early excample of the use of computers in mapping, the clip documents some of the steps Ordnance cartographers employed to keep up with the hectic pace of mapping the quickly changing British countryside. It’s the first I’ve ever heard tell of a “tellurometer“.

[tags]cartographic history, surveyors, cartographers, british ordnance survey, maps, map making, cartography[/tags]

Jim Siebold maintains an interesting collection of cartographic images online. The images are sorted and indexed into four time periods in history: “Ancient” (6000 B.C. – 400 A.D.) “Medieval” (400 A.D. – 1300 A.D.) “Late Medieval” (1300 A.D. – 1500 A.D.) and “Renaissance” (1500 A.D. – 1880 A.D.). Some of the early sketch maps of Columbus are fascinating in their simplicity. The various indices reference the cartographer when known. While it is unfortunate that one cannot zoom in on the images, it seems to be a good site for getting some idea of the more prolific cartographers of the various time periods.

[tags]Antique Maps, Cartographic History, Cartographers[/tags]