Reading Maps. Basic Instructions for Reading Maps (CITANJE KART)

30pp. 8vo, mimeographed text with images, original tan wrappers with mimeographed cover. This rare surviving pamphlet from World War II was produced by the Yugoslav Partisans, the most accomplished armed resistance movement against the Axis occupation of Europe. Starting out as a guerilla group, the Partisans soon created a complete underground society based on Communist principles, including schools, government and medical institutions, financial systems, and publishing presses. This pamphlet, produced by one such press likely hidden in the mountains or forests of Slovenia, addresses an emergent need in such a new, clandestine society: that for maps. It proceeds in logical order: geographical vocabulary, instructions for making field maps, and later more sophisticated and symbolic drafting techniques. Within this technical know-how, it also communicates tactical military advice that the Partisan guerillas employed in their battles with Axis armies. This tactical quality of the publication is most in evidence in the pamphlets many striking diagrams, which demonstrate the importance of visual knowledge in situations of survival. This pamphlet was one of many Partisan publications designed to educate, protect, and encourage members of the movement. It is particularly fascinating for its simple means of production, since the secrecy of Partisan operations limited them to mechanical methods such as mimeographs--in witness here--as well as heliotypes, linocuts, and typewriting. Given its fragility, the pamphlet is in excellent condition with clean text. Slight stains and some very small tears in margins. As one of the few Partisan publications on cartography, this pamphlet is a rare and fascinating record of the World War II resistance.…