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More on Marie Tharp

• December 31. < http://barista.media2.org/?p=2884 > 'Biggest thing on the planet' (by David Tiley on the Barista) blog.
        A further appreciation of Marie Tharp (who died earlier this year) and her underseas maps, based on a New York Times article and a news release from Columbia University. It focuses on her professional relationships with Bruce Heezen and Maurice (Doc) Ewing. For the earlier entry see in the Archive under 23 August 2006

Art donation to Rutgers includes maps of Hungary


• December 29. < http://www.upstagemagazine.com/articles/getarticle-new.php?ID=4245&wherefrom=mainpage > 'Salgo Trust gives its collection to Rutgers' (Upstage Magazine).
        'The largest and most important collection of 19th- and 20th-century Hungarian art outside of Central Europe will be acquired by the Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, as a gift from the Salgo Trust for Education ... In addition to the art works, the gift includes a collection of 16th- to 19th- century maps of Central Europe ...'. No details of the maps are given but they presumably focus on Hungary.

Aluminium case to be supplied for the 1507 Waldseemüller map


• December 23. < http://www.physorg.com/news86018408.html > "NIST to Preserve 1507 Map: America's 'Birth Certificate'" (from Physorg.com).
        The Library of Congress has 'partnered with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to design a hermetically sealed encasement for the 12-sheet 1507 Waldseemüller map. The encasement is designed to provide optimum accessibility for the public while preserving and securing the document. NIST will supervise the construction of the case, which will be turned over to the Library in 2007. The Library will display the map in the fall of 2007 as part of its "New Visitors’ Experience" exhibit'. Technical details are supplied of the case, which will be six times larger than that for the Bill of Rights.

Early atlases of Birmingham, Alabama to be scanned


• December 21. < http://bplolinenews.blogspot.com/2006/12/archives-will-digitize-birminghams.html > 'Archives Will Digitize Birmingham's Founding Documents with New Overhead Scanner' (a press release dated 19 December).
        Birmingham Public Library’s Archives announces plans to digitise various atlases including a volume containing 'the original maps and field notes of the survey team that laid out Birmingham's streets in 1872.' Others to be scanned include the Beers and Ellis Atlas of Birmingham (1887) and Baist's Property Atlas of Birmingham (1902).

A review of Old World Auctions


• December 19. < http://www.news-antique.com/?id=782063&keys=Maps-World-Auctions > '1806 Map of Red River Area Sells Online for $34,720' (by Ken Hall in News-Antique.com).
        The highlight of a two-week online auction held by Old World Auctions, now based in Sedona, Arizona, was a rare map of the Red River region of Louisiana, by Nicholas King. The rest of the piece is about the history of the firm and forthcoming lots. [Via < http://www.maptheuniverse.com/?p=94 > The Map the Universe weblog].

Exhibition of maps of Bulgaria opens


• December 18. < http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=74246 > 'Bulgaria's History Shown in European Maps Exhibition' (in the Sofia Weekly).
        'The "Europe for Bulgaria in Dr. Simeon Simov's collection" exhibition gives information on what Bulgaria looked like from ancient times until modernity'. Inspired by Bulgaria's EU accession, and opened by the Prime Minister in the Central Military Club in Sofia on 18 December, it features maps collected by Dr Simov over 40 years. [See also: December 19 < http://standartnews.com/en/article.php?d=2006-12-19&article=2450 > 'Intelligence Officers Bring Unique Maps to Bulgaria' (in Standart News), apparently giving a closing date of 14 January 2007.]

Harvard University announces a map donation


• December 14 [updated December 20]. < http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2006/12.14/07-maps.html > 'Ukrainian map collection arrives at Harvard' (by Jennifer Tomase in the Harvard University Gazette).
        The announcement is made about the donation of the map collection, built up by the late Bohdan Krawciw (1904-1975), 'a Ukrainian-born poet, journalist, literary critic, translator, and nationalist', to Harvard Map Collection in 2005. Its coverage is of central and Eastern Europe, with a focus on the Urkaine, and it includes the 1660 atlas by Guillaume Le Vasseur de Beauplan. [See the earlier news story from Harvard College Library, 7 December, with three illustrations, noting that an exhibition is planned for 2007: < http://hcl.harvard.edu/news/2006/ukrainian_maps.html >; and 'Ukraine Maps Arrive at Harvard: Valuable map collection documents historical and critical trends' by Firth M. McEachern in the Harvard Crimson on 19 December: < http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=516525 >. This refers to 'the collection of almost 900 maps thought to be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars'. Nor was this the first donation: in 1978, the Krawciw family 'bequeathed 12,000 maps to Harvard'.]

The Ratzer map of New York city up for auction


• December 4. < http://www.nysun.com/article/44510 > 'A Walker in the City, 18th-Century Style' (by Kate Taylor in the New York Sun).
        Background comment on the example of the Bernard Ratzer map of New York city (1767) being auctioned by Christie's on 5 December.

Dallas's founding cartographic document in need of repair


• November 30. < http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/113006dntexdallasmap.3138608.html > 'State charts course for restoration of rare maps. Replica of 1844 Dallas plat among sale items to fund efforts' (by Christy Hoppe in the Dallas Morning News).
        About a printed pamphlet and map (10.3 x 16.9 inches) produced by Charles Fenton Mercer in 1844, described as 'the first known record of the settlement and the name "Dallas" appearing on a map.' It is considered the best example of the three known to survive. The General Land Office will add it to reproductions of hundreds of historical maps, issued to fund its Adopt-a-Map programme. The article is accompanied by a fuzzy image.

The earliest jigsaw puzzles?


• November 27. < http://www.gnn.gov.uk/content/detail.asp?ReleaseID=245678&NewsAreaID=2&NavigatedFromSearch=True > 'Last chance to save cabinet containing maps used to teach George III's children' (posted on the Government News Network).
        A temporary export bar until 26 January 2007 (with possible extension until 26 April) has been placed on a cabinet containing dissected maps used as teaching aids for King George III's children. The Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest is seeking offers to purchase for £120,000 (excluding VAT). 'Jill Shefrin's book Such Constant Affectionate Care: Lady Charlotte Finch - Royal Governess & the Children of George III offers evidence that the cabinet contains the earliest surviving jigsaw puzzles.' [See the full text for further details. For the outcome, see entry for 12 March 2007.]

'Exploring the Southland' exhibition opens in Hobart


• November 24. < http://www.news.com.au/mercury/story/0,22884,20810964-3462,00.html > 'Maps chart age of discovery' (by Tim Martain in the [Hobart] Mercury).
        'A collection of 40 maps showing the growth of Australia's charted coastline is being exhibited at the Carnegie Gallery in Hobart ... The exhibit, Exploring the Southland, features maps from the collection of Dr Bernard Lamprell, who settled in Tasmania in 1967.' The exhibition closes on 6 January 2007.

A new book from the University of Chicago Press


• November 22 (date noted). The Press announces a new title [see here for the contents]: < http://www.press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/C/bo3750681.html > Cartographies of Travel and Navigation.
        Based on a previous series of Kenneth Nebenzahl, Jr., Lectures in the History of Cartography, this features contributions by five scholars, including the editor James R. Akerman. [Via The Map Room weblog].

Connecticut library receives bequest of a rare wall-map


• November 20 (date seen). Information from the website of the Map and Geographic Information Center (MAGIC)
        MAGIC, part of the University of Connecticut Libraries, in Storrs, received an example of Clark and Tackabury's 'Topographic Map of the State of Connecticut' (1859), as a gift from Mrs. Diana Levy, in honour of her husband, Colonel Levy. It measures 6 feet by 4, and is known from just three other examples. You can view it via the Earth Resource Mapping plugin.

Brown University producing an online map catalogue


• November 18. < http://www.boston.com/news/local/rhode_island/articles/2006/11/18/brown_university_cataloguing_its_repository_of_rare_maps/ > 'Brown University cataloguing its repository of rare maps' (by Eric Tucker in the Boston Globe).
        About two maps from a 'collection of more than 1,000 rare maps that librarians are in the process of cataloging online ... many dating back 100 years or more ... So far, 98 percent of the maps have been catalogued online in the Brown system, called Josiah, as well as on WorldCAT, a worldwide database where libraries can upload their collections. The university plans to digitize the maps so that Internet users can view them online ... A reception is planned this spring to celebrate the collection, which will be available for viewing inside the library, though the maps are not available to be checked out.'

Maps from David Rumsey's collection now on Google Earth


• November 13 [updated 15 November]. < http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2006/11/old-world-meets-new-on-google-earth.html > 'Old world meets new on Google Earth'.
        There has been massive publicity for the addition of sixteen maps from the Rumsey Collection on Google Earth. Note from Philip Hoehn: 'To view the maps, download the latest version of Google Earth (PC and Mac versions), then go to Layers/Featured Content/Rumsey Historical Maps. To enable transparency of the historic map layers, click on the Rumsey Historical Maps folder when viewing a map and a slider bar will appear that will adjust transparency for comparison of old and new maps images. Additional maps will be added in the coming months'. See also Frank Taylor's < http://www.gearthblog.com/blog/archives/2006/11/four_new_featured_go.html > Google Earth Blog for further technical notes.

Major exhibition about London maps opens at the British Library next week


• November 12 [updated 25 & 30 November]. < http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2006/11/12/svmaps12.xml&menuId= 5226 &sSheet=/arts/2006/11/12/ixsevenmain.html > 'A city spread before us. Poverty, the docks and bombing targets' (an unsigned article in the [London] Telegraph).
        A preview (focussing on the East End of London) of the British Library's forthcoming free exhibition, 'London: A Life in Maps', due to open on 24 November 2006 and to run until 4 March 2007. 'Three quarters of the exhibits have never been seen in public'. The article's final page lists 13 'notable exhibits'. 40 of the 190 exhibits are featured in an Online Gallery . [See a note by Peter Barber on The Map Room blog, 17 November, and a discursive commentary, < http://www.newstatesman.com/200611200032 > 'City of illusions', by Peter Ackroyd in the New Statesman , '20 November' (but posted 17 November). Podcasts are promised, there is a link to videos, and the exhibit has its own < http://britishlibrary.typepad.co.uk/londoninmaps/ > Blog].

Ann Arbor exhibit of maps from Shakespeare's time


• October 25. < http://www.mlive.com/features/aanews/index.ssf?/base/features-1/1161787280290590.xml&coll=2 > 'Step into Will's world via maps. Shakespearean Age cartography on display' (by Marianne Rzepka in the Ann Arbor News).
        A note on the exhibition, 'Shakespeare's World in Maps', at the University of Michigan's Clements Library. Opened on October 2nd, this runs until December 22.

University of Wisconsin-Madison to put early books and maps online


• October 12 (posted October 21). 'UW-Madison joins massive Google Book project'.
        A Press Release from the university describes how access will be provided to 'hundreds of thousands of public and historical books and documents' from the collections of the university and the Wisconsin Historical Society. All selected material will be out of copyright. It will include 'high use collections, such as...maps'.

A new book about the mapmaker Moses Greenleaf - talk by the author 23 October


• October 16. < http://www.bangornews.com/news/t/lifestyle.aspx?articleid=141831&zoneid=14 > '‘Daughter-out’ lists track of women ancestors' (by Roxanne Moore Saucier in the Bangor Daily News).
        Walter Macdougall, professor emeritus at the University of Maine, has issued Settling the Maine Wilderness: Moses Greenleaf, His Maps and His Household of Faith, 1777-1834 (Portland, Maine: University of Southern Maine and the Osher Map Library). The blurb notes that 'Macdougall’s book is a recognition of Moses Greenleaf’s great achievements in mapping the Maine wilderness at the very outset of its statehood in 1820'. 'Macdougall will talk about the book at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 23, at the Bangor Public Library'. [See also October 23 < http://bangordailynews.com/news/t/lifestyle.aspx?articleid=142118&zoneid=14 > 'Maps of Maine displayed in biography of Moses Greenleaf' (by Ardeana Hamlin in the Bangor Daily News)]

Further on the claims that the 1673 Marquette map is a hoax


• October 16. 'The Jacques Marquette Autograph Map Hoax'
        A message to the MapHist list from Carl J. Weber draws attention to a range of articles on his website and to the response to his revisionism. See Archive entry under 11 June 2006.

Further dismantling of the Menzies 'thesis'


• October 15. '1421exposed.com - New material including exposé of "The Island of 7 Cities"'.
        Six articles have been added to the 1421exposed.com site, by historians of cartography and others. See earlier under 26 & 24 April 2006. [Via MapHist ].

New price record for an atlas


• October 11. < http://www.maptheuniverse.com/?p=72 > 'First Printed Atlas Breaks A Record' (from Map the Universe).
        The 1477 Bologna edition of Ptolemy's Geographia, the first printed atlas, fetched £2.1 million ($3.9 million) at the second part of the Wardington sale at Sotheby's on 10 October 2006. This is a new price record for an atlas. It was bought by Bernard Shapero on behalf of an unnamed client.

First printed atlas for sale next week


• October 7. < http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article1816886.ece > 'Atlas favoured by Columbus goes on sale for £1 million' (by Cahal Milmo in the [London] Independent).
        Coverage of the sale, at Sotheby's in London next week (10 October 2006), of the second part of the atlas collection created by Lord Wardington has focussed on his coloured copy of the first printed atlas, the 1477 Bologna edition of Ptolemy's Geographia. Only one other privately-owned copy is known. The map illustrated and discussed is that of the British Isles, presumably reflecting the Sotheby's press release.

Nolli plan of Rome on display in Atlanta


• October 6. < http://www.artdaily.com/section/news/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=17664 > 'Discovering Rome: Maps and Monuments' (in the Art Daily).
        'The Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University [Atlanta] presents the exhibit 'Discovering Rome: Maps and Monuments of the Eternal City' ... At the center of the exhibition will be Giambattista Nolli’s Great Map of 1748, a landmark in the history of topography, enabling viewers to explore the city as a whole and to understand how the individual monuments fit within their urban context.' The exhibition opened on 23 September 2006 and runs to 14 January 2007.

Exhibition about the Dutch discovery of western Australia


• October 4. < http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=77&ContentID=8694 > 'Explorers map it out' (by John Duffy in the West Australian, WA News).
        An interview with Professor Ted Snell, Dean of Art, about the exhibition 'Western Edge', mainly concerned with the Dutch discovery of Australia's west coast, opening at the John Curtin Gallery, Curtin University of Technology, Perth on 6 October and running to 8 December 2006. 'The earliest map on display in the exhibition was printed in 1515, based on a chart believed to have been drawn in 1483 and based on a record from 1459 ... The exhibition contains about 70 pieces, including maps, books and journals. The rare and original documents were drawn from the extensive private collections of WA businessmen Jock Clough and Kerry Stokes.'

Large map of the Comstock Lode donated


• October 1. < http://www.canadianminingjournal.com/issues/ISArticle.asp?id=60652&issue=10012006 > 'Corporate Philanthropy - Kinross donates map of Comstock Lode' (in the Canadian Mining Journal).
        A 1900 manuscript map of the Comstock Lode has been donated by Kinross Gold USA to the W.M. Keck Earth Science and Mineral Engineering Museum at the < http://www.mines.unr.edu/mackay/ > Mackay School of Earth Sciences Engineering at the University of Nevada, Reno. 'The map is 5-ft tall and 12-ft long (1.5 x 3.6 metres). It features all claims and mines from Gold Hill to northern Virginia City and cross sections of the Belcher, Yellow Jacket, Hale and Norcross and the C. & C. Mines. It is displayed at the top of the Mackay building's main staircase on the second floor.'

A new, scholarly edition of Ptolemy's 'Geographia'


• September 30. < http://www.nzz.ch/2006/09/30/eng/article7115877.html > 'Researchers cast new light on old map' (by Julia Slater in the Neue Zürcher Zeitung).
        Announcing (with few relevant details) a new edition of Ptolemy's 'Geographia', produced by an international team of researchers led by Alfred Stückelberger and Gerd Grasshoff, professors at the University of Berne. It is based on the exemplar in the Topkapi Museum, Istanbul, described as 'possibly the oldest existing copy'. 'Using this manuscript and other copies from the Vatican, Venice, Florence and Paris they have produced the first complete modern edition of the Greek original, and the first full German translation ... The researchers even managed to correct some of the mistakes in the old versions. Not surprisingly, numerous errors had crept in over the centuries.' For further details about the project and the new publication see the Ptolemaios-Forschungsstelle site, and also the note on the Web Projects page of Map History. A message to the MapHist list from Markus Oehrli, 4 October, explained how the 1000 corrected coordinates were achieved.

South Carolina to put 18th century property maps online


• September 18. < http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/15545513.htm > 'Tour the past from your computer. S.C. Department of Archives and History puts documents online' (by Joey Holleman in The State (South Carolina).
        'The next big project at < http://www.state.sc.us/scdah/ > Archives and History is putting online 24,000 property maps from 1731-1775' [no details given].

Talk and exhibition about the early name for Siam


• September 6. < http://nationmultimedia.com/2006/09/06/headlines/headlines_30012911.php > 'Scierno: the Land of Smiles.A tattered map found in an obscure monastery has added more intrigue to the western world's discovery of ancient Siam' (by Subhatra Bhumiprabhas in the Nation (Thailand)).
        The mid-15th century Fra Mauro map (not usually described as 'tattered') provided the collector Thavatchai Tangsirivanich with evidence that the early name for Siam (and apparently its capital) was Scierno [though the article points out that a variant of this was already in Hobson-Jobson's dictionary]. 'Thavatchai Tangsirivanich will reveal his journey to discover "Scierno" at the launch of "Ayutthaya in European Maps" hosted by The Association of Thai Archives and the National Archives, on Monday [presumably 11 September] at the National Archives' main auditorium. An exhibition entitled "Decoding The Fra Mauro Map" will be displayed.' See also a later, illustrated piece (25 September 2006) by Chris Baker, with the sub-title, 'Meticulous research by an amateur map collector is encouraging historians to peer backwards in time in the hope of adding detail and colour to the scanty image we have of the ancient capital of Ayutthaya', in the < http://www.bangkokpost.com/Outlook/25Sep2006_out01.php > Bangkok Post.

Google, Wikipedia - and Battista Agnese


• August 31. < http://technology.guardian.co.uk/weekly/story/0,,1861112,00.html > 'Top of the heap: analysis of online search habits reveals that the first result - often a Wikipedia page - is by far the most popular. But, asks Charles Arthur, does that mean it's the right answer?' (in the London Guardian).
        In the context of an analysis of how people search (e.g. 42% click on Google's first result and 90% select from the first group of ten) the article examines the dominant role of Wikipedia, the free, user-compiled, encyclopedia. It reports the findings of Patrick Ross, of the Center for the Study of Digital Property, whose interest in early maps led him to check the entries for Vinland and Battista Agnese. [Part of the text also available via MapHist].

Delhi Archives to digitise their collections, including maps


• August 29. < http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=199003 > 'Delhi’s history gets modern touch, goes digital' (by Pratul Sharma in the Express India / Delhi Newsline).
        The Delhi Archives department is about to issue a tender for a four-year digitisation project, covering records, maps, photographs and portraits, dating back to 1785. It is claimed that this will be the first such project in India.

Scanned Irish maps a treasure trove for genealogists


• August 29 & 30. < http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/08/29/online_map_archive_an_irish_genealogists _pot_of_gold/ > 'Online map archive: an Irish genealogist's pot of gold' (by Raja Mishra in the Boston Globe).
        The Irish Government appropriately chose Boston, "the capital of Irish America", to launch this "treasure trove" for Irish genealogists. 'For 5 euros a day, roughly $6.40, computer users can access visual images of more than 30,000 maps of Irish localities dating back to 1824 ... [with] rich details about 19th century life in Irish neighborhoods: individual plots of land, cemeteries, schools, hospitals, businesses, factories, wells - even trees and bushes are mapped out. "These maps represent the world's first large-scale [historical] mapping of an entire country," said Malachy McVeigh, senior operations manager at Ireland's Ordnance Survey Ireland...The survey team painstakingly scanned the maps, most of them in storage at Trinity College, the National Library of Ireland, and the Royal Irish Academy, all in Dublin. The maps span two eras, from 1824 to 1847 [i.e. 1829-42, at 1:10,650], and from 1888 to 1913 [at 1:2,500].' [Text also available via the lismaps Archive for August 2006 [see messages from Francis Herbert with 'Irish' in the title, which also provides the site's < http://www.irishhistoricmaps.ie/historic/ > address!].

A new blog for Islamic cartography


• August 23 [posted 28th].
        Written by Tarek Kahlaoui, a PhD student at the University of Pennsylvania, Department of History of Art, Islamic Cartography is an 'outlet for my dissertation, in the writing process, titled: "The depiction of the Mediterranean in late Islamic cartography: from the 13th to the 16th century"'. That modest statement disguises the significance of the first major post: Islamic Cartography: A Bibliography of modern literature [covering so far the letter 'A'] . The next post offered Links to Photos of Islamic Cartography. A blog to watch. [Via The Map Room weblog].

Marie Tharp dies


• August 23. < http://www.earth.columbia.edu/news/2006/story08-24-06.php > 'Marie Tharp, Pioneering Mapmaker of the Ocean Floor, Dies' (Earth Institute News, Columbia University).
        'Marie Tharp, a pathbreaking oceanographic cartographer at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, co-creator of the first global map of the ocean floor and co-discoverer of the central rift valley that runs through the Mid-Atlantic Ridge died Wednesday August 23 in Nyack Hospital. She was 86'. Her first map of the North Atlantic (with Bruce Heezen) dates from 1959. [Via Lismaps]. And: < http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-tharp4sep04,1,2811531.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-california&ctrack=1&cset=true > 'Marie Tharp, 86; Pioneering Maps Altered Views on Seafloor Geology' (by Valerie J. Nelson in the Los Angeles Times, 4 September 2006). See also 'Mountains under the sea: Marie Tharp's maps of the ocean floor shed light on the theory of continental drift' (David M. Lawrence - Mercator's World 4:6, 1999)

Buffalo exhibit for the Dalai Lama's visit will include maps


• August 22. < http://www.buffalo.edu/news/fast-execute.cgi/article-page.html?article=81340009 > 'Libraries' Exhibits to Coincide with Dalai Lama Visit'.
        During September there will be an exhibition at the University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Special Collections Research Room, 420 Capen Hall, North Campus. 'Discovering Tibet: The Development of Western Notions of Central Asia and Tibet' will feature maps loaned by Richard V. and Susan B. Lee. These will range 'from a 16th-century woodblock map of Asia, the first of the continent, to 17th-century Dutch maps showing roads used for the north-south Silk Road commerce, to 19th-century maps of increasing detail as travelers explored the region'.

Spanish scientists use early maps to test a damage-free sampling method


• August 21. < http://www.azom.com/details.asp?newsID=6404 > 'Researchers Devise Technique to Preserve Ancient Manuscripts' (Azom.com - the A-Z of Materials).
        A team of scientists from the Department of Painting at the University of Granada, led by professor Teresa Espejo, has 'designed a vanguard analytical method based on two techniques: high-resolution liquid chromatography and capillary electrophoresis'. Dr José Luis Vílchez explained that they have replaced "the sample taking system based on the scalpel by another which does not damage the preservation of the document and consists of using microbrushes with the appropriate solvents"'. The method was tested on Arab manuscripts and on 16th-19th century maps from the Royal Chancellery of Granada, which had been used as legal evidence.

1697 Dutch charts of Australia 'discovered' - 20 years after being published!


• August 21. < http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/great-southern-find-maps-are-dutch-originals/2006/08/20/1156012415015.html > 'Great southern find: maps are Dutch originals' (by Steve Meacham in the Sydney Morning Herald).
        "They languished unrecognised in the vaults of the National Library of Australia for almost a century. Now two hand-drawn charts have been identified as 17th-century originals - and are possibly the oldest manuscript maps of any part of Australia to be held in Australian hands. The charts - both named "The South Land explored by Willem de Vlamingh in January and February 1697" - were finally uncovered by Martin Woods, the museum's map curator...The charts were among 1200 maps donated to the library in 1911 by Edward Augustus Petherick, an avid collector". EXCEPT, as the piece explains: "they were thought to be printed copies until 1981, when they were identified as hand-drawn originals by a visiting Dutch expert, Gunter Schilder, who was writing a history of the Vlamingh voyage". See Günter Schilder, Voyage to the Great South Land. Willem de Vlamingh 1696-1697 (Sydney: Royal Australian Historical Society, 1985). [Via < http://www.maptheuniverse.com/?p=30 > The Map the Universe weblog].

New interactive US site links maps and street data


• August 18. < http://rismedia.com/index.php/article/articleview/15648/1/1/ > 'Historic Map Works’ New Site Offers Collection of 19th & Early 20th Century City and Town Maps' (by Beth Bresnahan, RIS Media).
        Historic Map Works, based in Maine, specialise in what they call Residential Genealogy. The new website offers map images enlargeable to high resolution, with the option to buy an online version. So far the coverage is of New York City and Portland, Maine, and the eight states between Maryland and Maine. The aim is to include 650 atlases, 35,000 maps, and 300 directories (all the property of the founder, Charles Carpenter). This will offer a searchable collection of '19th and early 20th century American city, town and county maps, linked to volumes of information about who lived where when'. 'The map collection is linked with modern mapping technology that references existing street names and numbers. By simply typing in an address, users can follow the progression of buildings and neighborhoods through time - in some cases up to 250 years.' [See a later piece, 5 November 2006, < http://business.bostonherald.com/businessNews/view.bg?articleid=165711&format=&page=1 > 'Mapping out business: Maine co. is like MapQuest on a time machine', by Jay Fitzgerald in the 'Boston Herald'].

East West Cartographic acquires large geological map collection


• August < http://www.cartographic.com/geological_collection/ > 'Special Geological Collection Acquired From Telberg Geological Map Service'.
        'East View Cartographic (EVC) has made an exciting acquisition of geological maps and atlases with a truly global scope. This collection, purchased from the Telberg Geological Map Service, contains thousands of unique items from regions such as China, Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The Telberg family built this collection by establishing supply relationships with virtually every geological mapping authority in the world.' The maps evidently date from the past few decades, with Chinese maps post-Cultural Revolution, but also African material from the colonial period.

Scans of rare maps to establish proof of ownership


• August 17. < http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-ctyalemaps0817.artaug17,0,5975490.story?coll=hc-headlines-local > 'Gift To Help Yale Preserve Its Maps' (by Kim Martineau in the Hartford Courant ).
        More about William Reese and the Yale donation (see the story below). The money will be partly used to 'create a full electronic catalog of the collection, with digitized versions of many of the most valuable maps. The collection holds about 15,000 maps printed before 1850, showing early images of New England, America and North America. By scanning its rarest maps, Yale will have an electronic record of each map, with its unique stains, coloring and creases. If a map is stolen and turns up on the market, Yale then has a picture to compare it to and prove ownership. Digitizing the rarest maps will cut down on the number of people handling the maps while also allowing more people to study them - from a computer.' [The full text also available via ExLibris].

$200,000 for Yale's Sterling Memorial Library


• August 16. 'Yale University Library receives a gift for the Map Collection' [via MapHist - see also missing signature ].
        'William Reese, President of William Reese Company, a firm dealing in rare books and manuscripts in New Haven, has donated $100,000 to the Yale University Library to support the future of the Map Collection in Sterling Memorial Library..."Over the past year, in the wake of the apprehension of a thief who has now pled guilty to stealing maps both from the Beinecke Library and the Map Collection, I have worked with the Library to inventory the collections and to advise on the many issues which have arisen in the wake of those thefts. While we have come to realize that the Map Collection is facing many challenges, I am convinced that, with sufficient nourishment, the remarkable collections and dedicated core of staff can blossom into a vital research center of the first rank."' University Librarian, Alice Prochaska, stated that she will match his gift 'with funds reallocated from the Library's own budget. With Mr. Reese's advice and support, the Library will now begin to raise additional significant funding. We will be seeking to endow the position of Map Curator, to support the creation of a full electronic catalog with digitized versions of the holdings of this great collection, and to support and extend the high-powered consultative service in Geospatial Information Systems (GIS) that the staff provide'.

More on the LAC catalogue problems (see previous entry)


• August 3. < http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060803.ARCHIVES03/TPStory/?query=ross > 'All Over the Map. A catalogue in distress: Library and Archives Canada admits it needs help' (by Val Ross in the Toronto Globe and Mail).
        'If anything shows how Library and Archives Canada needs to upgrade its cataloguing systems, it could be the fact that staff realized that they had not one but two originals of a valuable 16th-century map only when they read about it on July 27 in The Globe and Mail..."The Forlani in the national archives was a map that was well known," says Conrad Heidenreich, York University professor emeritus of historical geography. "My sense is that at Library and Archives Canada, there's no corporate memory"..."I had no trouble in the old days working with the archives, because if I had a problem, I could ask Ed [retired maps curator Ed Dahl]," Heidenreich says. "The new people there are technicians. They're less well informed."...Researchers might assume that because Library and Archives Canada is now together as an institution, they should search by clicking on "National Library collection" in the AMICUS database. Nothing explains that they must click instead on the entire AMICUS database, which then trolls library holdings across the country before it coughs up what's at the former National Archives.'

Perhaps map curators do still have their value


• July 27. < http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060727.wxarchives27/EmailBNStory/Entertainment/home > 'Got to have it! ... Oops, already do. Library and Archives Canada came embarrassingly close to buying a valuable historic map they already had in their collection. Shouldn't the information collectors get their information straight?' (by Val Ross in the Toronto Globe and Mail).
        In May, LAC's cartography section publicly expressed interest in acquiring an example of the printed Forlani world map of 1562, one of the first to name 'Canada'. It was coming up for auction in Paris, and expected to make around $200,000. LAC sought private sponsorship for the purchase, pulling out shortly before the sale when it was realized they already had the 1560 state of the map. "The really embarrassing thing is some staff seemed unaware that the archives also already owned the 1562 version, the very one that was going up for auction. In fact, this 1562 Forlani was acquired by the archives in 1981, and exhibited as one of the nation's gems the very next year. It is also described in a catalogue, Treasures of the National Map Collection. And both Forlani maps are in LAC's current web catalogue -- but the LAC's confusing cataloguing system is part of the problem." Terry Cook, a retired senior manager at the archives, explained that "part of LAC's problems are that it has shifted cultures, from one based on specialized curators who knew their collections in depth, to a more open, democratized strategy. 'The new approach is to put more information on the Web, and to appeal to a vaster audience so ordinary people can research genealogy or aboriginal rights'." See an earlier posting about this map and the LAC to MapHist on 21 May 2006].

Celestial images at Penn State


• July 18. < http://www.psu.edu/dept/palmermuseum/exhibitions.html > 'Celestial Images: Antiquarian Astronomical Charts and Maps from the Mendillo Collection'.
        The exhibition at the Palmer Museum of Art, Pennsylvania State University runs until 17 September 2006. See also < http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2006/07/07-13-06tdc/07-13-06darts-07.asp > "'Old maps' chart new exhibit" (by Travis Larchuk in the Digital Collegian)

More on the Boston Public Library's 'Journeys of the Imagination' exhibition


• July 5. < http://www.boston.com/news/globe/living/articles/2006/07/05/watching_the_world_take_shape/ > 'Watching the world take shape' (by Greg Cook in the Boston Globe).
        A run-down of some of the items in 'Journeys of the Imagination', an exhibition from the Cartographic Collections of the Norman B. Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library, which continues until August 18. [See under 2 April 2006 for an earlier entry.]

The 1637 map of Diss, Norfolk saved by its residents


• July 4. < http://new.edp24.co.uk/content/news/story.aspx?brand=EDPOnline&category=News&tBrand= edponline &tCategory=news&itemid=NOED04%20Jul%202006%2017%3A29%3A03%3A687 > 'Townsfolk help buy historic map' (by Celia Wigg on the EDP24 site).
        Norfolk Record Office succeeded in acquiring the map by William Tampon (1637) - 'almost as big as a double bed' - for over £10,000, after townsfolk raised a four-figure sum. It will eventually be put on public display. [See original entry for 20 March 2006].

What is involved in putting on a Lewis and Clark exhibition


• July 2. < http://washingtontimes.com/familytimes/20060701-102650-9416r.htm > 'Discovering Lewis and Clark' (by Karen Goldberg Goff in the Washington Times).
        About the seven years that the staff at the Missouri Historical Society spent putting together 'Lewis & Clark: The National Bicentennial Exhibition', running at National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, from May to September 11. "Most captivating are the maps. It is interesting to see how far off some of Jefferson's expectations about the West were. It is even more interesting to see how Clark's maps changed as the expedition continued. One display explains how American Indians made maps based on what the people did with the land, not the land itself. Clark, who collected about 100 American Indian maps, then drew his own based partly on that research and partly on his own observation. These maps are on the walls of the museum as well as in several books and interactive displays."

Zebulon Pike's maps to be displayed in Colorado Springs


• July 2. < http://www.gazette.com/display.php?id=1318913&secid=1 > 'Pike’s papers get mountain of security' (by Ed Sealover in the [Colorado Springs] Gazette ).
        Discussing the high security surrounding the return from the National Archives of Zebulon Pike documents including maps, for a bicentenary exhibition at the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum. This opens 'on or around July 14' [such is the level of security] for five weeks.

Maps of Dover, New Hampshire on display


• June 30. < http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/dover/06302006/library/109210.htm > 'Restored historic maps are on display' (by Cathy Beaudoin in the Dover Community News).
        Four rolled-up maps of Dover and Strafford County (1831-70), the earliest being a manuscript wall-map of the Cocheco cotton mill, have been restored and will be on display from 7 July to the end of August at the library in Dover, New Hampshire.

'The Stories Behind Canada's Maps'


• June 21. Terra Nostra: The Stories Behind Canada's Maps, 1550-1950, a New Library and Archives Canada Publication (a press release from CCN Matthews).
        "Co-published by les Éditions du Septentrion and Library and Archives Canada, this book is the first history of Canadian cartography to come out in the last 30 years. Researched and written by Senior Archivist Jeffrey S. Murray, Terra Nostra draws on the world's largest and most important collection of early maps relating to Canada-the cartographic holdings of Library and Archives Canada". ISBN: 0-660-19496-1 (English), 0-660-97054-6 (French).

Dating maps from the wear of the block or plate


• June 20 [expanded June 21, and later]. < http://www.science.psu.edu/news-and-events/2006-news/Hedges6-2006.htm > 'New method for dating art prints and early books borrows know-how from genetic science'.
        'The discovery that the wood blocks and metal plates used for printmaking deteriorate at a clock- like rate means that we can now use the prints as a "print clock" for determining the date a work was printed'. This claim comes from Blair Hedges, professor of biology at Penn State in a paper due to be published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical, and Engineering Sciences. The illustrated summary features the woodcut map of Jamaica from Bordone's Isolario (1528). Although not specifically concerned with maps, Hedges (a collector of < http://evo.bio.psu.edu/caribmap/ > Caribbean maps) also used the works of Porcacchi and Magini for his copperplate examples. Significantly, 'Hedges' analyses also show that changes in print quality were caused by aging of the wood and copper alone, not by the wear and tear of the printing process itself or the number of times an impression was made with a particular block or plate'. See also a press release from EurekAlert, and a short summary by Tracy Staedter (21 June) in the Scientific American.com < http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa003&articleID=0001D8A6-9665-1498-927983414B7F4945 >. Greg Miller's < http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2006/621/4 > 'A New Hook for Dating Books' (21 June) in Science Magazine provides more information, including FAQs, a link to the full 19-page, pdf < http://evo.bio.psu.edu/hedgeslab/Publications/PDF-files/176.pdf > article, and further links, e.g.: < http://evo.bio.psu.edu/printclock/ >. More about Hedges's method and < http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evosite/evo101/IIE1cMolecularclocks.shtml > Molecular clock basics. See also this and other postings on ExLibris in July 2006; and < http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/15107277.htm > 'A biologist turns a page. A Penn State professor, stepping out of the lab, has developed a method to date old prints and books. Some scholars challenge it', by Tom Avril in the Philadelphia Enquirer (24 July).

More on the Newberry purchase from the History Museum


• June 19. < http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/chi-0606190128jun19,1,2389138.story?coll=chi- newslocalchicago-hed > 'Library finds a treasure in maps. Newberry gets a deal when it acquires hundreds of items from city museum' (by William Mullen in the Chicago Tribune).
        More information on the special sale to the Newberry Library of material from the Chicago History Museum, with Robert Karrow discussing some of the acquired maps and Sam Plourd, the museum's director of collections, giving details of the disposals. [For an earlier account see under 31 May 2006]. [A further update note, 31 October 2006: to see the maps in question go to the Newberry Library Cartographic Catalog, select 'Search' and, under 'Search for the phrase', enter: Purchased from the Chicago Historical Society, 2005].

Exhibit in Portland, Oregon


• June 16. 'Treasures of the John Wilson Special Collections'.
        Running from 24 June to 20 August 2006, the exhibit in the Multnomah County Library, Portland, Oregon, includes "Atlas Major (1662), by Joan Blaeu...the Nuremberg Chronicle (1493)...important early maps and documents of Oregon". See the announcement on ExLibris - though you may have to re-format the text elsewhere in order to read it. The shorter version on the Library's < http://www.multcolib.org/events/collins/" > site omits mention of the map items.

Is the 1673 Marquette map a Jesuit fake?


• June 11. < http://www.pjstar.com/stories/061106/REG_BA246ESI.062.shtml > 'History professor says Marquette map a fraud. Believes sketch couldn't have been made before 1813' (by Michael Smothers in the Peoria Journal Star).
        Carl Weber, professor of history and the humanities at DeVry Institute in Chicago, claims that the hand-drawn Marquette map of 1673, which accurately details the Illinois' curving course, is "a historical fraud". His findings, announced at the Newberry Library last September, are based on the fact that the map contains information about the Illinois that didn't appear on other early exploration maps until decades later. "The likelihood of Marquette going up the (Illinois) river with Joliet is very slim." He believes that the map "supposedly discovered in 1844 among documents stored and virtually forgotten in a Jesuit mission in Canada - was created and forged with Marquette's signature by the Jesuit Order to strengthen its political position in France and The Vatican."

Has 'Fort Crevecoeur', Illinois been wrongly located?


• June 11. < http://www.pjstar.com/stories/061106/REG_BA1PSC9A.062.shtml > 'The Fischer Theory' (in the Peoria Journal Star).
        A second revisionist piece in the same issue, this time relaying the theories of amateur historians Marty and Bruce Fischer of Macomb. They claim that 'Fort Crevecoeur', where the La Salle and Tonti expedition of 1680 was aborted, was actually at Beardstown and not Peoria. Their evidence, partly based on 'two dozen maps of the early French era', will 'force historians to rewrite the history of the first European settlements in Illinois.' See also 'Historians stake claim in Beardstown' by Michael Smothers in the State Journal Register, 19 June 2006, including criticism of the theory < http://www.sj-r.com/sections/news/stories/88877.asp >

Death of Cor Koeman


• June 10. 'Prof. Dr. Ir. Cor Koeman died a few days ago' [message to the MapHist list].
        Born in 1918, Cor Koeman is best known for the monumental Atlantes Neerlandici but his contributions to the history of (particularly) Dutch mapmaking were wide-ranging and significant. No doubt obituaries and bibliographies will appear in the leading map journals, as a tribute to one of the leading figures in the history of cartography.

[away from the Internet 10-19 June - leading to delayed postings for that period]

The National Library of New Zealand puts maps online


• June 6. < http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0606/S00052.htm > 'Historical Turnbull Maps Now Online' (press release via Scoop Independent News).
        "The Alexander Turnbull Library has linked some 240 images of historical New Zealand maps from its collections to the < http://nlnzcat.natlib.govt.nz > National Library Catalogue". They are low resolution but the library is 'working towards' providing high resolution online, although those can be purchased. The Turnbull should be encouraged to do that; anything less is of marginal use. See the press release for the complicated access instructions. There are also 64 map images on their Timeframes page.

Exhibition in Rome showing how Italy was perceived and reproduced from the 16th century onwards


• June 1. < http://www.agi.it/english/news.pl?doc=200606011355-1085-RT1-CRO-0-NF11&page=0&id=agionline- eng.oggitalia > 'Exhibition 'Italy: Landscape and Territory' at Vittoriano' (in AGI Online).
        The exhibition running from 2 June to 20 September 2006 at the Vittoriano monument in Rome, includes 'several maps of cities and military routes as well as geological maps presenting the physical composition of our country's soil. In particular, the Environmental protection agency has lent to the exhibition, the 18th century 'first geological map of Italy including earthquakes", of which only another copy exists and is at the British Museum in London.'

Chicago - maps move across town


• May 31. < http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/05-31-2006/0004371287&EDATE= > 'Rare European and American Maps Join Newberry Library's Collection of Cartographic Treasures' (from PRNewswire ).
        The Chicago History Museum, having decided to dispose of 1000 maps, allowed the Newberry Library to make a private offer. Nearly 400 maps were selected, including 'two very sought-after maps of Texas, including a large and very uncommon 1857 edition of DeCordova's map, and six manuscript maps, among them a map of Newfoundland from about 1675 and another of the < http://www.newberry.org/collections/NewAcq2005.html > Ohio Valley from the 1790s' [whose thumbnail is on a page with other recent map acquisitions]. [For a later piece see under 19 June 2006].

Wes Brown honoured for services to Denver Public Library


• May 27. < http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/spotlight_columnists/article/0,2777,DRMN_23962_4730773,00.html > 'Library's friends help keep book on democracy open' (by Tom Noel in the Rocky Mountain News).
        About Wes Brown, a well-known figure in the world of early maps, who is being honoured on 14 June with a reception at the Central Denver Public Library. He has been named as the 2006 Eleanor Gehres Award Winner for outstanding volunteer service to the Denver Public Library. He has given many maps to the library, which now claims to be the best in the West. As often happens with map fanatics, his wife has had to ban maps from the living room.

The Library of Congress puts up a website for its Los Angeles exhibit


• May 11. < http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-wk-gallery11may11,0,4730238.story?coll=la-headlines- politics > 'Finding it on a map. "Los Angeles Mapped" reveals the city through changing times and political and artistic views' (by Brenda Rees in the Los Angeles Times).
        '"Los Angeles Mapped," a new exhibition at the Ira Gershwin Gallery on the second floor of the Walt Disney Concert Hall, features about two dozen maps from 1639 to 1991 (and a video loop of Google Earth in action) that serve as historical timelines and storybooks'. The exhibit, which had opened on 28 January, runs through January 2007. The curator, Sam Brylawski, describes some of the exhibits. What is not made clear is that the material comes from the Library of Congress. The accompanying online version, with high resolution images of the 23 items, was mounted in late April.

A map used by Churchill in 1940 to help prepare for an invasion by Hitler?


• May 7. < http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/4982116.stm > 'Map may reveal Churchill secrets. Mystery surrounds a map which experts believe may provide new information about plans to defend England from invasion in World War II' (BBC News).
        The sheet of the one-inch Ordnance Survey map of England shows Westerham, Kent, near Churchill's home at Chartwell. A note on the back says that it was 'reputedly used in 1940 in connection with the defence of SE England'. It claims that it 'was used by Churchill at "Tall Trees"' [as yet unidentified]. An arrow on the map points to 'Charts Edge', about a mile south-east of Westerham. The map is to be sold by Shropshire auctioneer Mullock Madeley at Ludlow Racecourse on June 7th.

Map Library at Indiana University to close?


• May 5. < http://www.idsnews.com/news/story.php?id=35831&adid=campus > 'Four libraries facing closures. SLIS Library to close permanently this summer' (by Carrie Ritchie in the Indiana Daily Student).
        The Map Library is one of four Indiana University campus libraries threatened with imminent closure. However, protests are making the administration review the decision. Much of the piece is about this one library. Kelly Caylor, professor of ecohydrology, said that the library was 'critical to the daily activity of (his) discipline', and grad student Todd Lindley commented, 'Removing the map library - and hence, the maps - will eradicate a very valuable teaching resource from our department and campus. For geographers, removing the map library from the building is like removing a projector from an electronic classroom'.

Military Landscapes of 18th Century Scotland (PhD Studentship)


• May 4. "The University of Edinburgh Institute of Geography and the National Library of Scotland Map Library are pleased to announce a collaborative research studentship on: 'Constructing the Military Landscape: the Board of Ordnance Maps and Plans of Scotland, c.1707-c.1815'". The 3-year studentship, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, will begin in October 2006 [with closing date of 16 June]. [via MapHist].

Map findings at the University of Tulsa


• May 2. < http://www.tulsaworld.com/NewsStory.asp?ID=060502_Ne_A15_Inval2006 > 'Rare maps at TU may be worth more than one wants to know ' (by April Marciszewski in the Tulsa World).
        Under the heartening heading 'Research called more important than sticker price', it continues: 'This historian and that librarian do not want to know how much these old jewels of maps are worth. If it is millions, a far-off insurance company would dictate a vault, perhaps, and white gloves for handling. Or worse, no touching at all.What is the point, ask librarian I. Marc Carlson and history graduate student Mark Dolph. Why have maps that tell stories if no one can pull them out and decipher them?' Dolph has been finding important uncatalogued maps in the McFarlin Library and will add the details to the existing webpage. Further evidence for my contention that the best place to find unrecognised material is in a public collection.

A 'dynamic' new book


• May 1. The press release for Seeing Through Maps: Many Ways To See The World by Denis Wood, Ward L. Kaiser, and Bob Abramms claims that this 'dynamic' book 'challenges the popular world-view by questioning a number of map images and the specific messages they communicate'. In addition,'a companion DVD, Many Ways to See the World, will be available in July, 2006. It includes a 30 minute classroom film (suitable for junior high to adult)'. You can assess it for yourself by reading Chapter 1 free online. As with earlier titles by Denis Wood, this is an intentionally revisionary look at maps both old and current.

David Thompson to be celebrated


• April 27. < http://www.rockymountainoutlook.ca/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=128&cat=44&id=638266&more= > 'Museum gives Thompson his due ' (by Rob Alexander in the Rocky Mountain Outlook).
        "David Thompson, one of Canada’s greatest unsung heroes, is finally getting the recognition he deserves, even if it is nearly 150 years too late. The writer, naturalist, explorer, fur trader, surveyor and mapmaker is the subject of the upcoming North American David Thompson Bicentennials Initiative that will span three years and include numerous events throughout North America and England". Jack Nisbet, author of The Mapmaker’s Eye: David Thompson on the Columbia Plateau, 1800-1812 and Sources of the River: Tracking David Thompson Across Western North America, will be talking at the Canmore Museum and Geoscience Centre (Alberta, Canada) on May 3.

Are the Chinese officially claiming to have discovered Australia?


• April 26. < http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,18927896-12332,00.html > 'Beware fleets of fantasy. There is no evidence Chinese sailors first discovered Australia' (by Geoff Wade in the Australian - Higher Education [sub-titled 'Keeping the nation informed' - of interest in the context of Gavin Menzies being invited to deliver a prestigious lecture at the University of Melbourne]).
        One aspect of genuine interest in the Menzies/Liu Gang affair is the official Chinese attitude to claims that Zheng He reached Australia in the 15th century. Geoff Wade shows that, contrary to earlier reports, this has and is happening - though it is not necessarily the formal official line.

'Mapping the White Mountains' exhibit at Harvard's Pusey Library


• April 25. " 'Mapping the White Mountains' features the early mapping of New Hampshire's majestic mountains from 1677 - 1988. The exhibit includes John Foster's Map of New England in 1677, Blanchard and Langdon's 1761 map of New Hampshire, Holland's 1784 map, a rare Carrigain edition, AMC maps, USGS maps, and Washburn's 1988 Mount Washington. (Through July 2006)" [via MapHist; a post on 26 April announced that there was an exhibition catalogue].

Scholarly fight-back against the Menzies myths


• April 24. 1421 Exposed: Scholars Respond to Liu and Menzies [via The Map Room weblog]
        "1421 Exposed, which will be officially launched on May 1, is a web site put together by academics and researchers to combat Gavin Menzies’s theory that the Chinese discovered the world in the 15th century, and, in particular, to refute the authenticity of Liu Gang’s purported 1418 map of the world. Via MapHist." [I had given up reading about the fictions of Menzies and his cohorts, but this deserves to be highlighted. The site, even if not yet complete, is already worth a look]

'Sea of Japan' or 'East Sea'?


• April 21. < http://in.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID= 2006-04-21T173742Z_01_NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_India-245807-1.xml&archived=False > 'S.Korea, Japan's troubled history of name and blame' (by Jon Herskovitz from Reuters India).
        "What's in a name? Quite a lot when it comes to fights between South Korea and Japan over some tiny islands, the body of water that separates the wrangling neighbours and features deep beneath that sea. The most recent spat is over a Japanese plan to conduct a nautical survey near a set of desolate islets that both countries claim. Koreans call them Tokto, Japanese call them Takeshima." South Korean is objecting to the use of 'Sea of Japan', preferring 'East Sea' instead. For a cartographic analysis from the Japanese side, see 'Changing in the Name of the "Japan Sea"'.

Maps on exhibit in Corvallis, Oregon


• April 20. < http://www.gazettetimes.com/articles/2006/04/22/entertainment/cover/cov04.txt > 'Maps key to understanding history: Collector of classic cartography shows the world at OSU through September' (by Mary Ann Albright in the Corvallis Gazette-Times).       Featuring an exhibition at Oregon State University's < http://oregonstate.edu/dept/humanities/art.html > Center for the Humanities in Corvallis of 51 maps from the collection of Duncan Thomas, professor of forest science at OSU. The maps, from the 15th century, cover various parts of the world and are a 'record of not only geography, but also public opinion'.

US road maps, past and present


• April 17. < http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/060424fa_fact > 'Getting there: the science of driving directions' (by Nick Paumgarten in the New Yorker).
        An extended, entertainly written piece, relating US road maps of the past, from Andrew McNally II in 1907, to their online descendants. The interviewees include Jim Akerman and Kenneth Nebenzahl. < http://www.maproomblog.com/2006/04/the_new_yorker_on_road_maps_and_directions.php > The Map Room weblog, with additional comments from Cartography blog].

Death of Walter Ristow


• April 16. < http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/15/AR2006041500811.html > 'A Local Life: Walter W. Ristow. Cartography Expert Knew Maps Were About More Than Travel' (by Matt Schudel in the Washington Post).
        Personal and official reminiscences of Dr. Walter W. Ristow, former chief of the Geography and Map Division of the Library of Congress (1968-78), who died on April 3, 2006, aged 97. The Walter W. Ristow Fund was set up to support research and writing about the cartographic collections of the Library of Congress. [Earlier announcements and obituaries (from April 4) can be retrieved via the MapHist Archive].

Zheng He exhibition in Bangladesh


• April 5. < http://www.thedailystar.net/2006/04/05/d604051401108.htm > 'Envoy of Peace from China: An ancient mariner and his quests' (by Karim Waheed in The Daily Star [Dhaka]).
        About an exhibition, at the Bangladesh National Museum, Shahbagh, from 3-15 April. It celebrates the remarkable voyages of Zheng He and has been mounted by the Chinese embassy. There is no reference to the 1418/1763 map [see under March 18, 2006].

'The Geographic Revolution in Early America'


• April 4. < http://www.udel.edu/PR/UDaily/2006/apr/bruckner040406.html > 'Book focuses on geography's link to early American history' (by Sue Moncure in the University of Delaware U-Daily).
        About 'The Geographic Revolution in Early America: Maps, Literacy and National Identity' by Martin Brückner, associate professor of English [published by the University of North Carolina Press in February]. 'Brückner focuses on the effects of geography as a form of literature and how a geographically literate population shaped early American history...Geography books and maps were very popular, and textbooks played an important role and taught many Americans not only about the land but also how to read and write.'

World maps at the Boston Public Library


• April 2 [date posted]. Journeys of the Imagination.
        An exhibition of World Maps from the Cartographic Collections of the Norman B. Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library, 21 March-18 August 2006; from the 15th century to the present day; there will be an exhibition catalogue, and, in May, a 'virtual tour' is due to be added; for a sample view of the display see a page on Flickr; see also a further description from < http://www.wfsb.com/Global/story.asp?S=4763282 >World Now (13 April?); and the entry for 5 July 2006.

Road survey of Westchester, N.Y. on display


• March 31. < http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060331/NEWS02/603310423/1018 > 'Rare map goes on display in Rye ' (by Liz Sadler in the Journal News [Westchester, New York]).
        A 13-foot MS map by Joseph Mangin, a well-known New York surveyor, c. 1800, of the Boston Post Road corridor from Mamaroneck to Port Chester. It was commissioned by the Westchester Turnpike Co. The map, owned by High Ridge Books in Larchmont, will be on display at the Knapp House in Rye throughout April.

Vulnerability of maps to theft recognised


• March 28. < http://arts.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,1741060,00.html > 'Hot Rocks and The Book of Snuff: British Library reveals its missing list' (by Patrick Barkham in the [London] Guardian).
        Including the following comment: 'According to the library, the most serious thefts are the carefully targeted removal of antique maps and plates from rare books by professional thieves'.

Library of Congress online exhibition


• March 28. Maps in our lives.
        Divided into Surveying, GIS, Cartography, Geodesy, and featuring material from other collections as well, this comprises mostly recent thematic maps (including David Woodward's 'Cultural Map of Wisconsin'), but starts with George Washington's farm through time - a reflection of a physical exhibition in the James Madison Building until January 6, 2007, clebrating a 30-year partnership with the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping.

The Norfolk town of Diss in 1637


• March 20. < http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/norfolk/4827296.stm > 'Campaign to save ancient town map' (from BBC News) .
        A campaign 'to raise thousands of pounds' to enable Norfolk Record Office to acquire the map of Diss, hand-drawn on six sheepskins in 1637. [See entry of 4 July 2006 for the happy outcome].

Exhibition about the Dutch discovery of Australia


• March 20. < http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/history-lessons-handed-over-on-a-plate/2006/03/19/1142703218040.html > 'History lessons handed over on a plate' (by Steve Meacham in the Sydney Morning Herald).
        The exhibition, 'First sight: the Dutch mapping of Australia 1606-1697' (to run until 4th June at the < http://www.atmitchell.com/Events/exhibitions/2006/firstsight/about.cfm > State Library of New South Wales), focussing on the 'Hartog Plate', which recorded the arrival of the Eendracht in 1616. The exhibition includes maps.

Latest 'news' on the 1418/1763 Chinese map


• March 18. See the post by Michael Ross to the MapHist list about a questionable carbon dating exercise. [For a previous note on the claims made for this map see under January 12, 2006, and for subsequent MapHist posts see its Archive, from 18 March onwards. The Map Room had a blog on 23 March, 'Chinese Map Controversy: Liu Gang’s Press Conference']

Mapping through time in Portland, Maine


• March 10 < http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/business/stories/060310orbis.shtml > 'History meets GIS technology' (by Matt Wickenheiser in the Portland Press Herald - about Orbis, based in Portland, Maine, that 'combines cutting-edge geographic information computer technology with historic maps, records and other information'. Examples of their mapping through time are included in the current Osher Map Library exhibition 'The Changing Peninsula: Two Centuries of Portland Maps and City Views').

Cartography: 'an art that did not know that it was going to be a science'


• March 9 < http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=511945 > 'Portrait: Tom Conley' (by Zoe M. Savitsky in the Harvard Crimson - a profile of the wide- ranging intellectual interests of Harvard's Lowell Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures, for whom 'the studies of cinema, poetry, philosophy, literature, are all an exercise in mapmaking'). [Via The Map Room weblog.]

Missouri State Archives exhibition


• March 3. < http://www.whig.com/304684497196057.php > 'Map exhibit opens in Mark Twain museum' (in the Quincey Herald-Whig - "[Mark Twain] Boyhood Home and Museum and the Hannibal Free Public Library will open "Mapping Missouri," an exhibit from the Missouri State Archives, on Saturday [March 4th]... It will be on view until April 23...This exhibit features more than 100 maps from the Missouri State Archives' collection, some of which have never been shown before").

Map exhibition in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina


• February 28 < http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/myrtlebeachonline/entertainment/13979356.htm > 'Antique maps show Horry district' (in Sun News - 'The Franklin G. Burroughs-Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum opens the exhibit "The Mapmakers' Art: The Bishop Collection of Antique Maps: 1608-1863" at 10 a.m. today. It will run through March 26. The historic maps collection includes an 1825 map of the Horry District by Robert Mills and naturalist Mark Catesby's 1731 work, "A Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands" ' - strangely the Museum < http://www.myrtlebeachartmuseum.org/opening.html?PHPSESSID=dff47260491b774268bac1256dae8139 > website makes no mention of this; elsewhere the exhibit is said to have 30 antique maps).

A collector's view of map thefts


• February 25. 'What can the International Map Collectors' Society do to deter map thieves?' (Roger Baskes, President of IMCoS, in whose Journal this originally appeared (as a response to the Forbes Smiley revelations) highlights the ways that map collectors worldwide can help to minimise the potential damage caused by such despoliation of research libraries).

A measured look at the Vinland Map controversy


• February 22. The publishers of Imago Mundi (Routledge) have put up for free viewing (< http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a741574814 >) a review article by Professor P.D.A. Harvey about the Vinland Map - see the posting to the MapHist list].

Florida maps on exhibit


• February 21. < http://news.ufl.edu/2006/02/21/smathers-in-miami/ > Smathers Libraries’ Caribbean collection exhibited at Miami museum ('An exhibition of highlights from the University of Florida’s George A. Smathers Libraries’ Caribbean archival and library materials will open Feb. 24 at the Historical Museum of Southern Florida in Miami. The exhibition, "Caribbean Collage: Archival Collections and the Construction of History", spans five centuries of Caribbean history and focuses on the British West Indies, Haiti and Cuba from the 18th to the early 20th century.' The exhibition runs until 4 June 2006).

Texas bird's-eye views on exhibit


• February 17. < http://www.cartermuseum.org/Exhibitions/patterns-of-progress/index.html > 'Pattern of Progress: Bird's-Eye Views of Texas' (about an exhibition at the Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, 18 February-28 May, illustrating four examples and with notes of associated talks - via the < http://ccablog.blogspot.com/2006/02/birds-eye-view-maps.html > Cartography weblog).

Velasco Map a fake?


• February 14. An article by David Y. Allen in < http://www.stonybrook.edu/libmap/coordinates/contents.htm > Coordinates: Online Journal of the Map and Geography Round Table, American Library Association, ser. A, no.5 (February 14, 2006) argues that the Velasco Map is a fake. He is backed up by a companion commentary from Kirsten A. Seaver. The map, drawn about 1610 and supposedly sent by the Spanish ambassador in London to Philip II was 'discovered' in the Archivo General de Simancas in 1887 and has featured prominently in histories of cartography since.

Only adventurous historians need apply


• February 9 < http://news.alpinezone.com/7920/ > 'Yearning for Winter? Mount Washington Awaits' (from AlpineZone News - describing an overnight 'EduTrip' on March 16-17 to look at the 'history of mapping Mount Washington [New Hampshire], including use of the new GPS technology'; it could prove to be a lively stay since 'the highest wind ever recorded on earth, a remarkable 231 miles per hour, was measured on Mount Washington on April 12, 1934').

More on the Artimedorus map


• February 8. < http://dsc.discovery.com/news/briefs/20060206/papyrus_arc.html > 'Papyrus Reveals Ancient Stories' (by Rossella Lorenzi in Discovery News [Discovery Channel] - the 1st-century B.C. papyrus fragments, about to go on display in Turin's Palazzo Bricherasio for three months, contain a text about Spain with spaces left for maps (one of which was filled) - with illustrations (not of the map)). [See under 5 January 2006.]

Exhibition in Rome [posted 11 February]


• February 7 < http://www.culturalweb.it/articles/detail.aspx?id=029db584-be1f-4921-aca7-51039ed8b4a6 > 'Antica cartografia d'Italia dal cinquecento al risorgimento' (from CulturalWeb.it - Italian commentary on the exhibition (with the title above) from 8-19 February 2006 at the Complesso del Vittoriano, Rome, showing about 70 varied maps of Italy (15th-19th century) ["to read the map of Italy is to describe the nation"] from the Collezione Gianni Brandozzi di Ascoli Piceno; there is an accompanying catalogue).

"Chicago in Maps: 1612 to 2002"


• February 6. < http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/nation/13803728.htm> 'Collector charts the story of Chicago's journey from swamp to big city' (by Charles Leroux in the Chicago Tribune - about Robert A. Holland's recently published "Chicago in Maps: 1612 to 2002" (Rizzoli, 208 pages, $50), which includes panoramic views ). [See also comment in The Map Room weblog).]

Undersea looters use charts from the Archive of the Indies


• February 6. < http://www.guardian.co.uk/frontpage/story/0,,1703259,00.html > 'Spanish police arrest galleon plunderers' (by Dale Fuchs in the Guardian [London] - 'Spanish police have broken up a ring of undersea looters who have spent the last two years allegedly plundering the archaeological treasures of Spanish galleons and other historic ships that sank off the coast of southern Spain... The treasure-hunters apparently located the pieces using maps translated from old Spanish and photocopies of other documents found in the Archive of the Indies, in Seville').

Post D-Day maps used by the Allied Forces


• February 2. The Library of Congress has added to its 'American Memory'collection, 'World War II Military Situation Maps 1944-1945' - 416 printed maps, in MrSID format, and 115 reports, giving daily details on the military campaigns in Western Europe from D-Day to July 1945; including an essay, The Battle of the Bulge, which includes a slide show, detailed views of selected maps, and commentary and analysis from Library of Congress curators on the course of the battle). See the LC announcement via the MapHist Archive.

Soleto Map a fake?


• February 1. 'World's oldest map' a fake? (Soleto map 5th century BC) - message to the MapHist list from Peter van der Krogt, who summarises the claim by the Dutch archaeologist Douwe Yntema that the map [on which see under November 18, 2005] is a fake; the original note appeared in print as: 'Ontdekking "oudste kaart" een grap?', Geschiedenis Magazine 41, 1 (Jan-Feb 2006), p.5). [See also, via The Map Room, further comments and links on the Kartentisch blog.]

Appalachia maps displayed


• January 30. < http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16033392&BRD=1283&PAG=461&dept_id=158544&rfi=6 > 'Map display comes to AHS Saturday, Sunday. The idea for staging this weekend's public viewing of a host of local and regional turn-of-the-century maps originated, in part, from a casual conversation between two local history buffs' (by Ida Holyfield in Coalfield.com - about finding maps, from the 1890s, which went on display at Appalachia High School, Virginia).

Caribbean map exhibition


• January 29. < http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/states/florida/counties/miami- dade/cities_neighborhoods/pinecrest/13733234.htm > 'Charting the past: rare maps of Cuba, Hispanola, Martinique and Guadalupe from the 16th-20th centuries provide thought-provoking windows into history, culture and geography' (by Adriana Martinez in the Miami Herald - about an exhibition from the Claude Alix Collection, at the Deering Estate's Richmond Cottage, Miami-Dade County, 21 January-26 March 2006, 'Cuba and the Caribbean in Old Maps').

NOAA exhibition in February


• January 27. < http://www.publicaffairs.noaa.gov/releases2006/jan06/noaa06-r404.html > 'New NOAA exhibit celebrates nearly 200 years of science and service' (Press Release: Artifacts, including early scientific instruments, maps and charts, will be on public display at the agency’s headquarters in Silver Spring, Md., February 6-11, 2006 during the second annual NOAA Heritage Week - via The Map Room weblog).

Siamese maps exhibited


• January 23. < http://www.manager.co.th/IHT/ViewNews.aspx?NewsID=9490000009560 > 'Mapping history. Forget Google Earth. These maps offer insight into countries you can’t see anymore' (by Lim Li Min in the Thaiday - about a group of 17 manuscript Siamese maps, of a type not otherwise known in Thailand, discovered in 1996 and assigned to the period 1782-1851, which can be seen at the Jim Thompson Art Center, Bangkok, in an exhibition entitled 'Siam in Trade and War - Royal Maps of the Nineteenth Century', from January 28 to March 31). [See also notice from Francis Herbert, in the MapHist Archive, with details of a 2004 book on these maps].

Yale to digitise its early maps


• January 15. < http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-smiley0115.artjan15,0,6000647.story?coll=hc-headlines-home > 'Rare Documents Going Digital. Yale May Join Libraries Using Technology Against Theft Of Originals' (by Kim Martineau in the Hartford Courant - about the temporary closure of Yale's map collections, the dismissal of its map curator, and proposals to digitise its rarer maps). [Text also available via ExLibris].

Maltese maps to be digitised


• January 14. < http://217.145.4.56/ind/news.asp?newsitemid=26662 > 'Maltacom sponsors digitisation of private map collection' (in the Malta Independent Online - about the cataloguing and digitisation of the 600-item collection of maps of Malta owned by Dr Alberto Ganado; there is no mention of web access). [Text also available via the MapHist Archive].

Unconvincing claim for a 1418 Chinese circumnavigation


• January 12. < http://www.economist.com/books/displaystory.cfm?story_id=5381851 > 'China beat Columbus to it, perhaps. An ancient map that strongly suggests Chinese seamen were first round the world' (in The Economist - about a Chinese map (illustrated here in low resolution - but see a large, very slow- loading image < http://files.blog-city.com/files/N04/80559/b/1418map.jpg >), owned by the collector Liu Gang, dated 1418 but apparently in a 'copy' of 1763 [though showing what appear to be similar outlines to those of 17th-century European cartographers], including the continent of America, being given a worldwide public launch to show, in the words of the press release, 'that it was Zheng He, a Chinese admiral, who discovered America, not Christopher Columbus'). [See also the discussion on the MapHist Archive from this date, almost all of it sceptical - in particular a translated article by Prof. Gong Ying-yan; and other links, e.g. to articles in The Times and The Independent, provided by Doug Weller; and a good summary of the discussion (3 February 2006) on The Map Room weblog).]

'World's oldest map'? [again!]


• January 5. < http://ansa.it/main/notizie/awnplus/english/news/2006-01-05_2278607.html > 'Turin to reveal world's oldest map: Papyrus of Artemidorus on show on eve of Winter Olympics' (from ANSA.it - 'the 1st-century-BC Papyrus of Artemidorus, which contains the map, will go on display for the first time ever at the city's Palazzo Bricherasio (< http://www.palazzobricherasio.it/ > - select 'Calendario') from February 8 to May 7...It features the account of a trip to Spain of a previously obscure Greek geographer, Artemidorus of Ephesus, and the map, which is unfinished and impossible to relate to any particular region. But what counts is that it shows roads, rivers and settlements in an attempt to depict realistic spatial arrangements; something which makes it the first example of the kind of map used today' [there is a small, indistinct illustration] - via Angie Cope and MapHist). [Please note the article on this map by Barbel Kramer in Imago Mundi ,53 (2001), pp. 115-120]
• January 1 - see under December 24, 2005