The Historical Ties

The Historical Ties

There is no way to get around the fact that any map is partly judged by how it fits into the long history of mapmaking.   People really like maps because of this history and to pretend that it is not a big factor is to miss an essential point.  Even though my maps are made today and are enhanced by modern technology, and other systems exist which mean that you would not navigate by my work, there is still an allure to seeing how a physical reality is represented on a flat surface.  The lettering, the titles, some cartouches, the borders and scales, all strike some chord in peoples’ memories and psyches and pull for all kinds of feelings about how the maps make you feel or what they make you think about.  And without these subconscious connections, I’m sure they would not be nearly as popular as they are.  The handmade quality of the craft is part of a long line of drawing and painting that resonates for the viewer.  I have heard many, many comments about the non-machine-made aspect of these maps and why someone thinks that is so special.   In this day and age, that seems to take on more cache’ with each passing year.  We have somehow almost forgotten that things were made in this way for the past 10,000 years and only in the last 10 has there even been another method of production.  My maps clearly pull for this reaction and help me connect with the people who really like them.  Without the implicit historical bridges, this would not be the case.