The Map Maven

01/05/2022

Thursday, January 6, 2022, 7:00 pm New York (ET) time: "Lippert & Lowry: Battle of the Maps."

Poster experts present their favorite posters with maps: Angelina Lippert is the Chief Curator at Poster House NYC, the first museum in the United States dedicated to the impact and history of the poster. She holds an MA in the art of the Russian Avant-Garde from the Courtauld Institute of Art in London, and a BA in theology and art history from Smith College. She is the author of The Art Deco Poster, and has lectured at School of Visual Arts, The Cooper Union, Columbia University, and The Sotheby's Institute of Art.

Nicholas D. Lowry is President and Principal Auctioneer of Swann Auction Galleries -- which he joined in 1995 -- and also the Director of Swann’s Vintage Posters Department. As one of the world’s foremost authorities on vintage posters, he has spent nearly 25 years serving regularly as poster appraiser on the PBS television show Antiques Roadshow. Registration is not required. Connect here no earlier than 6:45pm EST: https://avenues.zoom.us/j/2126270767

Antiques Roadshow l PBS , Swann Galleries

05/30/2021

Correspondent Martha Teichner charts a course through the history of mapmaking, and the rise of road atlases, which, to our surprise, have not died out with ...

04/11/2021

09/13/2020

Even the earliest maps had beautiful little cherubs representing the prevailing winds as if they are the source of the air movement. The attached image is a more modern representation!
New York Map Society

07/18/2020

Thanks to the Brooklyn Historical Society.

The Brooklyn Historical Society’s collection of nearly 1,500 digitized maps dates back to the 17th century.

07/17/2020

Here is Governor Cuomo's pandemic map.

07/05/2020

Please take a look at hoe the pandemic has reshaped so many worlds. This was a fascinating journey sponsored by Bloomberg CityLab -- Thanks! Constance Brown represents the New York and CT Map Societies with her published work of art. Great job Connie!

Through homemade maps, CityLab readers share perspectives and stories from a world transformed by the coronavirus pandemic.

06/28/2020

Here is a recent acquisition of a world map with China as its central feature. It is by Gerard Mercator and published by Jodocus Hondius in Amsterdam in 1606.

The beautifully decorated map displays much of East Asia, but China is intended as the focal point. Accordingly, the map notes many Chinese provinces, cities, and geographical features, and shows the Great Wall standing along China’s northern border.

The map is noteworthy for its many errors and curiosities. Europeans knew little about Asia in the early 17th century, and Mercator and Hondius engage in a great deal of speculation about the continent. China is incorrectly represented as having a number of large lakes in its interior. One of them, the mythical Chaimai Lacus, is supposed to form the headwaters of five Indian rivers. Other major Asian countries are misrepresented as well. Korea is shown as an island, while Japan is very badly projected according to the Ortelius-Teixeira model.

There are also many cultural curiosities on display. An inset cartouche shows a Japanese crucifixion, possibly of a Christian missionary, while a unique sail-cart occupies the left side of the map. To the right, a depiction of Alaska is accompanied by text that references Tartar hordes living in the region. The ocean is also replete with decorative flourishes: including an Asian junk boat, a European ship, and a very menacing looking sea monster.

06/27/2020

This is an interesting "interactive" overlay of Don Quijote's travels that I ran across while researching for an article that I am writing in Califia, the journal of The California Map Society.

Quiosco Quijote interactivo - Biblioteca Nacional

06/27/2020

We watched Master and Commander last night featuring sailing off of the Brazilian coast and around Cape Horn in 1805, where the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean merge to create some of the most treacherous waters anywhere on the planet. It reminded me of these Brasil maps from my collection.

Oriented with north to the right, this map shows the eastern portion of Brazil. Includes an ornamental cartouche, and illustrations of ships and putti.

Appears in Willem Janszoon Blaeu's Le theatre du monde, ou, Nouuel atlas. Amsterdam: Chez I. Bleau, 1650.