America Deflated

Often I have highlighted a map that provides an "inflated view" of its subject. In other words, making it appear larger (and by inference, more important).

Artist Nina Katchadourian has taken an opposite approach. She has taken a standard AAA road map of the United States and "deflated" it, to only include the portions that are relevant to her life:

Coastal Merger:

I was born in California, moved to the east coast for college, went back to the west coast for graduate school, and now live on the east coast again. This map reflects my bicoastal experience of this country.

From a purely technical point of view, I am impressed with the way she carefully matched up coastlines and highways to create a seamless merger. I wish I could get a closer look.

Katchadourian's work can also be seen in this collection, Opener 11: Nina Katchadourian: All Forms of Attraction and in my favorite "maps as art" book, You Are Here: Personal Geographies and Other Maps of the Imagination by Katharine Harmon.

Via Creative Mapping: "A blog dedicated to the creative use of maps in art or how to map information creatively. All in all we are dedicated to showing map art."

Big Apple, or Big Spud?

From Very Small Array, via Curbed.com

Two really cool mappish/design/architecture/popular culture/etc. and other stuff blogs I've just discoverd.

Seattle Space Needle in Jeopardy?

Ken Jennings (yes, that Ken Jennings, the guy that holds the record for the longest winning streak on the U.S. syndicated game show Jeopardy!) has a website and blog where he talks a bit about his life and his family, and a lot about games and puzzles and other things that he finds interesting.

Yesterday, he posted about finding a sticker album for his son. "He’s a bit of a nerd, and likes maps and stuff."

I beg your pardon! There is nothing nerdy about liking maps and stuff!

Geeky, maybe...

Anyway, Ken was offended by the lackluster and inaccurate depiction of Seattle's most famous landmark, the Space Needle: "I feel I know the Space Needle. And you, odd gray Cylon-looking phallus, are no Space Needle. You’re not even close."

Check out his post to see the even more egregious offense, the image they chose to represent Notre Dame University, in South Bend, Indiana...

The Walmart Epidemic

The Flowing Data blog created an animation showing the growth of Walmart. It starts slow and then spreads like wildfire...



Via Boing Boing

Fantasy Cartography

Fantasy Cartography is a blog that offers a collection of maps from various fantasy and science fiction books. Also included are "other goodies from literature, the Bible (not fiction), or television programs, movies, and video games."

Since January of this year, the (unnamed) blogger has pulled together hundreds of maps. While I did not make an exhaustive search, nearly every one of a half-dozen or so authors I checked were represented in the collection. Each entry is extensively tagged allowing the user to search any title in the author's series in order to find the relevant map.

Below is an excellent example of a map of the Young Kingdoms surrounding Melniboné, from Michael Moorcock's Elric of Melniboné series of fantasy novels; authorized by the author.



My only quibble with the site is that many of the maps are not clearly marked to indicate if they are the "official" map (included in the book, or approved by the author) or "fan maps", drawn by fans based on their perception of the author's imaginary world.

Via The Map Room


#229

Where Is Local Girl?

Caroline Clifford is a UK web comic blogger, known as Local Girl. I find her comics and stories about her daily life amusing (if sometimes a little TMI...).

Local Girl has embarked on a summer adventure traveling through Canada and the United States by bicycle, bus and train. She has created a Google Map that allows her fans to know Where Is Local Girl?:



She started in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and is working her way through the Maritimes before heading south. I especially like the custom marker pin she has created using her comic icon.

Perhaps at some point she will cross paths with Evan on his "crazy ass" adventure.


#214

Where In The World Is This?

It is an island... somewhere on the planet Earth:



If you can identify it, visit Where On Google Earth? and post your guess.

Gary Arndt is a world traveler, and every 2-3 days he posts a new contest to identify a location from Google Earth.


#213

Evan Crossing the US

In March of this year, Evan, twenty-three years old, left his home in Northern California and began his walk across the United States. Monday this week we had the pleasure of hosting him for a night here in Dayton, Ohio.

He had many interesting stories to share, and good conversation. We could have gone late into the night, if most of us didn't have to go to work the next day... Some of his adventures are chronicled in his blog: Evans crazy ass adventures crossing the US ect. Unfortunately, his Flagr map stopped working about halfway through Missouri:



From Dayton, he will continue across Ohio to Pennsylvania. His goal is to make it to Massachusetts by the end of the summer.

Ms. Cartophiliac connected with Evan via the Couch Surfing Project, a "worldwide network for making connections between travelers and the local communities they visit." These connections provide opportunities for individuals to find a free "couch" to stay the night while traveling, and maybe make a few new friends along the way.

Each dot on this map shows locations where couch surfers might be able to find a friendly sofa:



Evan has used this network to connect with Couch-Hosts from Europe to China. After he is done with this trip, he says he's off to Japan. Good luck on your trek, Evan. May your feet find soft highways...


#208

Map Catalog of the Week

Who doesn't love maps? I recently discovered two more blogs focusing on interesting maps:

Map of the Week has been highlighting a new map every week since 2005! The author, "Dug", calls himself a "Cartographer/GIS/map nut by trade originally from Philadelphia now living in exile outside of Boston, Mass." This week's map takes a look at the Map of Web Trends from Information Architects:



Mary Ann Vance started a new blog last month, that she calls "Map Catalog". I presume that Mary Ann is also a cartographic professional of one sort or another (educator?). Her blog posts highlight different types and styles of maps. Her choice of an example of a planimetric map was a stroke of genius!

In a recent post, she offers a population density dot distribution map from the U.S. Census Bureau. The brighter the dot, the higher the population density:




#204

Spanish Jeopardy

"Rex Parker" calls himself "The 55th Greatest Crossword Puzzle Solver In The Universe!" He also collects and writes about vintage paperback books, in his blog, Pop Sensation.

Naturally, this book's cover caught my eye: Jeopardy Is My Job, by Stephen Marlowe.

Hardball detective fiction writer, Stephen Marlowe (must be Phillip's brother), writes about hardball detective, Chester Drum, and his hardball trip to Spain, where he tracks down hardball (highball?) drinkers. Its a good thing he has a map to help him out.

If you enjoy bad book covers, then you should also check out Judge a Book by its Cover.

Oregon: the Quilter State

In addition to the Kentucky Democratic Primary tomorrow, folks will also be voting in Oregon. Barack Obama is expected to win this primary.

Oregon is one of the handful of states I have never visited, so I only have these two map postcards:



The only resident of Oregon that I sort of "know" is blogger, Michael5000; art quilter, bible-reader, and pop quizzer. He loves his home state, and his home town of Portland (City of Roses). However, unhappy with his state's boring flag, he sponsored a contest to design a new flag. The winner:

Ohio on a Stick

Some of you may have noticed my recent experimentation with selling advertising space to Project Wonderful. It is an interesting model for buying an selling ads. That little ad box in the upper right portion of this page does not, I think, usually offend.If anything, the ads are often a little silly and irrelevant to the topic of this blog (online comics, fan fiction, t-shirts). I have so far made a grand total of $0.27!

Just imagine my suprise when, this morning, I looked at my blog and found an ad for "Original Map Paintings." The ad links to an online shop at Etsy, an online community where members can buy and sell "all things handmade".

The art featured in this shop is by Erik Maldre. He calls the two examples posted here Ohio on a Stick and Estonia on a Stick.

From the Artist's Statement:

The second reality is clearly defined by the title of each piece. "'Region' on a Stick No. 'X'" perpetuates beyond the representational notions of a map by suggesting that the represented region is a physical object unto itself. Ironically enough, the duality of representation comes full circle for the suggested physical object is still a representation of such due to its physically painted nature.

Erik, I love this stuff. If you had sent me a link, I would have plugged your site for free! (Like I'm doing now.) Although, as long as you maintain the Project Wonderful ad, your link will remain at the top of the front page...

Managing Geographic Information Systems

I have lately experienced an interesting phenomenon that I imagine many bloggers, at least those with a moderate following, have experienced: The Promotion Campaign. I have been contacted several times by PR people as part of their attempt to create some buzz about the product, exhibit, service or website they are promoting. If it is relevant to my topic, maps and map memorabilia, I am more than happy to give them a plug.

In that same vein, I was delighted to post about John Krygier's book, Making Maps: A Visual Guide to Map Design for GIS, not only because it is an interesting book, but I also am a fan of his supplementary blog, Making Maps: DIY Cartography. As stated from the beginning, I am not a cartographer, nor professional geographer. Neither am I versant in the use of geographical information systems. I felt semi-competent commenting on Krygier's book because it had wonderful advice for the amateur mapmaker, as well as some clever and useful illustrations.

Presumably, because of that review, and the fact that I am a librarian, Krygier's publisher, Guilford Press, has me on a list. Today I received a review copy of Managing Geographic Information Systems, Second Edition, by Nancy J. Obermeyer and Jeffrey K. Pinto. Aside from my wholehearted endorsement of the attractive use of topographic map iconography in the cover design, I am very unqualified to comment on the quality of the book's contents. I just don't do GIS. However, I would like to honor Guilford's trust in me by at least attempting to get a review for them. Therefore, I am willing to mail this copy of the book to anyone interested in GIS and feels as if they could give this book and its authors a fair evaluation. Contact me and include your address (USA only) and I will send it your way. Write up a review and I will post it here.

Cartophilia Poll

I maintain this blog because it is fun, but I also hope that others find it amusing. I know somebody is reading, or at least looking at the pages, because the statcounter keeps going up... I would like to provide content folks enjoy, so, if you are a returning visitor, what brings you back? Please take a moment to respond to the poll and/or leave a comment on this post. Thanks!

What are your favorite topics on Cartophilia? (You may vote for more than one) Imaginary Countries Map postcards Map clothing Books about maps Map stamps Maps as an element of design Map puzzles Political maps Links to other blogs pollcode.com free polls

Political Cartography 2.0

The Institute for Politics, Democracy and the Internet is hosting its annual Politics Online Conference this week in Washington, DC. Patrick Ottenhoff, publisher of TheElectoralMap.com, will be speaking on the Political Cartography 2.0 panel. He has already blogged about two of this topics:

Politics Online Conference: D.I.Y. Maps
Politics Online Conference: Cartograms


I'm looking forward to additional posts on his presentation, and the maps he will share.

Canary Islands

I have recently begun trading postcards with other map postcard collectors. The first three cards below are from Héctor, a resident of the Canary Islands, an "Autonomous Community" of Spain, consisting of seven islands.



Contrary to popular belief, the islands were not named after the avian canary. Instead the name comes from the breed of large fierce dogs, the Canary Mastiff (in Spanish, el Presa Canario) that were already present when the ancient Romans established contact with the islands by the sea. The Latin word for dog is canis. The breed of birds were named after the islands...



The economy is based primarily on tourism, which makes up 32% of the GDP. The Canaries receive about 10 million tourists per year. Who wouldn't want to vacation under such a friendly looking sun?



Héctor has begun publishing his own blog, Colección de MAPAS en tarjetas postales, to highlight the map postcards from his own collection. The text is in Spanish, but the images of the map postcards are always interesting.

When I first began correspondence with Héctor I said that I did not have any map postcards from the Canary Islands, but after more searching I rediscovered these two cards that were sent to me by some British friends who like to spend their holidays there:

• According to Tim Ashkar, the women of the islands are mermaids. I find the story a little fishy.


• Christopher Columbus stopped at the Canaries on his way to re-discover the New World in 1492.


• The cuisine of Canary Islands combines traditional Spanish recipes with african and latin-american influences.


• In 1936, Francisco Franco was appointed General Commandant of the Canaries. He joined the military revolt of July 17 which began the Spanish Civil War.

Why Didn't You Tell Me?

Since I began this blog in September, I have had the same Title, Subtitle, and description in place:

Cartophilia: Maps and Map Memorabilia
Stamps, postcards, advertising, coffee mugs, shirts, and other emphemera. I love maps, and maps as an element of design.

However, just this evening, Mrs. Cartophiliac pointed out that I misspelled the word ephemera...

D'oh!

Why didn't you all tell me sooner?

How embarassing.

Making Maps: A Visual Guide to Map Design for GIS

As noted, I am not a cartographer, nor a geographer. In fact I have drawn very few maps since Quastolia... However, I appreciate well designed maps, and John Krygier and Denis Wood have produced a useful guide for amateurs, professionals and students: Making Maps: A Visual Guide to Map Design for GIS.

Before they even get into the mechanics of how to make a map, the first chapters focus on what is a map and why they are powerful tools?

• Why are you making a map?
  
• Your intentions shape the form of the map.
  
• Determine the data appropriate for your map.
  
• Determine the tools you will use.

Next they provide useful information and tips on layout, symbolization and use of fonts and color. Instead of writing about maps, and working some illustrations around their text, they focus on images of maps, with many examples, illuminated by their text.

I appreciated the many illustrated examples of not only good map design, but a few bad ones as well:



Many of the illustrations are entertaining as well as informative:



Krygier, an Associate Professor of Geography at Ohio Wesleyan University, continues to offer tips and advice on his blog, Making Maps: DIY Cartography. There he outlines his intent:

I designed the book like I would design a map. The audience? Cartography courses, maybe as a supplement, GIS courses, certainly as a supplement, and individuals who make maps (or like maps) but don’t have a background in cartography, and don’t want to be academic cartographers. Then what? Coherent concept, a hierarchy of content emphasizing what is important and excising the rest, creative design to grab attention and make a point, all so that the book works as well as possible for its readers.

Making Maps is an accessible introduction to the principles of mapmaking that will lead to creative and useful maps for most purposes.

Bloggers Read Blogs

I checked my stats and found that several more blogs have linked to, or commented about Cartophilia.com. As always, thanks for the plug. And now to return the favor:

I been getting lots of visitors recently from Gadling.com Not a "map blog" but a blog about travel (and travelers, must by necessity, appreciate maps!). However, we also have something else in common. One of the blog writers is named "Jamie" and s/he loves The Amazing Race as much as I do!

Contours is the Official Blog of National Geographic Maps, publishers of reference maps, outdoor recreation maps and mapping software, and professional mapping applications.

Recently they took a look at Our Dumb World: The Onion's Atlas of the Planet Earth, 73rd Edition, and they say the entry on Afghanistan made them cry. Can't say I blame them (but it is still funny, in a macabre way...).

Postcards from Bloggerville is published by a psychologist and writer who has a poetic apreciation of maps.

WHAT IS THE CENTER AND LAYOUT OF YOUR MENTAL GPS SYSTEM?

Do you carry an inner map of the world? Of your life? Of your body?

How do you or don't you use maps in your life?

What is your map of your yourself?

He She writes about many kinds of maps, of places... or persons...

Phillipe Boukobza takes a different tack with his Visual Mapping. He is interested in how ideas are mapped.

A mindmap sketch from John Clapp.

Tuck's Russo-Japanese War Map

One of my favorite map related blogs, Strange Maps, posted today about three postcards related to the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. It inspired me to find the vintage Russo-Japanese War postcard from my own collection:



I recall picking this up at a paper collector's show in Columbus. On the back:

Raphael Tuck & Sons' Post Card Series No. 1355 "Russo-Japanese War"
ART PUBLISHERS TO THEIR MAJESTIES THE KING & QUEEN

No date on the card, but it appears to have been published during or soon after the war...

Who is reading Cartophilia?

Since I began this blog in September, I have enjoyed watching the visitor stats I get from StatCounter (see the little green counter at the bottom of the right-hand column on this page). In addtion to telling me how many visitors I get, it also tells me, based on IP address, where they are coming from, and the search terms they used to get here. It even offers a Google map, like this one:



I wonder who it might be, floating in the South Atlantic, off the coast of Africa, at zero degrees by zero degrees... could it be Colonel Bleep?

A special thanks to The Map Room, Gadling.com, The Electoral Map, and Diary of a Booklover for linking to this blog recently, thus steering new visitors my way.

I am enjoying writing this blog. I have mounds of material yet to share. All it takes is time. I hope you are also enjoying your visit(s). The only thing missing is a dialog with my readers. PLEASE feel free to comment on any post that catches your fancy.

Thanks!

And yet more map blogs

The longer I do this, the more I find other bloggers doing the same or similar things... centered around their love of maps.

Three more map related blogs I've come across lately. Both related to making and using maps:

Making Maps: DIY Cartography

This blog highlights resources that ... help you to make better maps. [T]his blog also provides examples of creative and provocative maps and material on map making and understanding, culled from contemporary and historical sources.

Google Maps Mania

An unofficial Google Maps blog tracking the websites, mashups and tools being influenced by Google Maps.

Map the Universe



The author is "a paper pushing drone located in a cublicle somewhere in Canada", interested in antique and collectible maps.

The Politcal Clout of Fairfax County, Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia has been a fairly solid Republican state from many years. However, in response to President Bush's "unpopularity", Democrats gained control of the State Senate in last Tuesday's voting.

See: The Washington Post's Virginia Post-Election Roundup

In my previous post, I pointed to maps that demonstrate the cartographic "lie" of the national electoral map. Here, in yet another interesting map blog, The Electoral Map, Patrick Ottenhoff points out that the shift in State politics can be attributed, chiefly, to a shift in the voting pattern of the most populous county in the state: Fairfax County, suburb of Washington, D.C.



This map demonstrates the population of Fairfax County, relative to the rest of the state.

Other Map Blogs of Note

While I never imagined what I was doing here was completely original... I hadn't yet come across other blogs that were devoted to "fun with maps". Since starting this blog several weeks ago, I have discovered several.

Maps For Us: The Children of America Need Maps appears to have started just a few weeks before mine. Clearly inspired by Miss Teen South Carolina:



Maps For Us encourages folks to send in their maps to help children learn from maps... submitted maps are serious and whimsical, and include everything from maps to coffee shops in Amsterdam:



The the lost continent of Atlantis:



UPDATE 11/6: But, they haven't posted since September, so they seem to have lost interest already...

UPDATE 12/2: "This Account Has Been Suspended". I guess the joke is over.

Strange Maps appears to have been publishing from the UK since 2006. This cartophile shares odd maps that he finds or his reader send. Most of the maps appear to have some serious intent, such as this map of the socio-economic divide of England:



or a folk art rendition of Peru:



Launched in March 2003, The Map Room is a blog that points to maps, map collections, map-related resources, and material about maps on the web.

His most recent post, brought this new "Atlas" to my attention:



2003!

I sort of had an idea for a blog like this back in 1994... but I didn't know what blogs were.

That was right about the time I had, what I thought was a brilliant idea... I would compile a bibliography of Alternate History books. However, while I was compiling titles, I found a website that was already doing it. The website that would become Uchronia: the Alternate History List had already compiled a list three times the size of mine.

Yet again, I am unoriginal. But I'll keep at it. I still have hundreds of post cards, ads and other map memorabilia that maybe, just maybe no one else has posted...

If you find any of this remotely interesting, please feel free to comment. Also, feel free to send interesting links or images of map memorabilia to me at Admin AT cartophilia.com.