Charting the Unknown: Collectible Maps and Cartography

by Beth Carswell

Let's hear it for cartographers. Without map-makers, who knows how we'd find our way around. But they have an easier job of it today, with most of the globe explored, charted, recorded and explored again. Early map-makers struggled against many adversities - imagine traveling to far-off lands and trying to accurately record your voyage, on tiny scale, well enough for the next ship of travellers to follow your route?

And all this before smart phones, too.

The origins of cartography are difficult to pinpoint, as the definitions of maps tend to vary widely from scholar to scholar. But from early cave paintings of geographical directions, to clay tablets originating in ancient Greece and Babylonia, humans have been using meticulous drawings as a means of recording our explorations of the world around us for thousands of years.

The possibilities of wide exploration and more accurate cartography rose sharply in the 15th century, with the advent of the Gutenberg printing press, and a growing desire for trade products not commonly available worldwide. Previously, the art of map-making had been heavily intuitive and problematic to replicate or verify. It was in the 15th century that the Roman mathematician, geographer and astronomer Claudius Ptolemy's Cosmographia, originally compiled in the 2nd century AD, was translated from Greek into Latin and became Germany's first published atlas by Lienhart Holl in 1482.

Many maps are not only records of information but also things of great beauty - map-makers frequently embellished their creations with elaborate whaling scenes, illustrations of ships, sea monsters and more. Many maps also include a cartouche, which is a decorative emblem or enclosure on a map. A map's cartouche (example at right) often involves scrolls and seals, shields and other symbols of country and creator, the date of the map's completion and more. Cartouches became commonplace in map usage in the 1500s, and were often used as the signature of the map-maker, again incorporating information about the map itself as well as varying artistic elements and even mythical animals.

Today, rare and antique maps are highly prized by collectors. Inaccuracies, changing region names and borders and previously held beliefs about the world we live in all contribute to making maps one of the most elegant ways to enjoy the history of our geography.

Please note: quantity on rare items is extremely limited; copies on display may sell quickly.

Rare Maps and Antiquarian Maps

 

Tell us about special maps in your collection.

More to Explore