I loved looking at all the maps last week. It was totally fascinating to see a new representation of places that are so familiar to us. It was also hilarious to see the various things they included. There was a map with the Loch Ness Monster, one with a bunch of pelicans labeled, even one with a random sketch of a colony of beavers. I found all the little details to be quite humorous. It also made me wonder, what was the point? Why did we need to see Nessie or a rock full of pelicans? Then I decided that the little drawings are what make the maps relatable. By adding a myth or a familiar sight, the artist made could make his map feel like home. These small images would have made the maps seem a little less foreign, and a little more like normal.
I also liked their close attention to detail, from each small hill to the illustrations lining the edges. Our maps today are detailed, down to the last highway and side road, but when it comes to marking geographic landmarks or just making quirky little side pictures, we are certainly lacking. I think we’ve lost something valuable over the years. I, personality, would enjoy seeing a little mouse peering up at me, or perhaps a fish swimming in the middle of Lake Michigan. Maps today are for function, not fun.
My point, I suppose, is simply just that it is important to pay attention to the small things because they can go a long way. However cliché it may sound, it is still true. Today, people think that maps are just for finding your way (at least, if you happen to be using a map and not a GPS). We don’t really care if the maps we use make us smile or make us feel at home. All we want is to get from point A to point B without getting hopelessly lost. Maybe if there was a beaver on our maps, we’d be a little less stressed while driving and we’d be more likely to find our way.
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I personally /love/ old maps, and wish I could see what you are describing. Although the scientific exactitude of new maps is also important, the art has been reduced to a picture-frame border around the legend and a single, tiny ship in the Atlantic...these too are disappearing. There is nothing left to give the reader a sense of the majesty of the globe or the unique character of a distant land. It's all political divisions.
ReplyDeleteI also noticed the decline of detail in maps. They are typically made for some kind of purpose and are limited to a decorative border.
ReplyDeleteAww, I didn't see most of those. I wish I had looked at all the maps now...
ReplyDelete"These small images would have made the maps seem a little less foreign, and a little more like normal." I both agree and disagree with you on this--those maps were also decorated to give viewers a heads-up. This was the New World, after all, things were new, the colonists needed to know at least a little of what they were facing. And pillaging.
Anyway, I also think we should bring back the quirks! I really enjoy old maps and whatnot for that very reason--you don't get the same kind of ridiculous on today’s maps. Unless you're in elementary school, of course.
Cute but poignant point, Elise. I enjoyed it. :)
Awesome observations. I too noticed how bland and boring maps have gotten since the times when they almost resembled art. I thought that this gallery was amazing in how it showed the difference in the different maps made at different times. It was interesting to see what was discovered when.
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