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The Making of Maps offers a unique insight into the evolution of map-making and the science behind it, from the stone age to the digital age. Unique approach to the genre of historic maps, linking the map-making tools to the maps themselves.
List of contents
INTRODUCTION
1. IN THE BEGINNING
The First Maps
2. SURVEYS AND SKETCHES
Gathering the Information
3. WHYS AND WHEREFORES
The Purpose of Maps
4. OLD TIMERS
The First Map-makers
5. IN THE ROUND
Globes and Spheres
6. SURFACE MATTERS
Materials for Drawing Maps
7. A MAP OF MANY PARTS
The Components of a Map
8. GOING NOWHERE
Places Which Weren’t There
9. THE DRAWING ROOM
Key Cartographers from the Golden Age to the Modern Age
10. MIGHTY MAPS
Mapping Superlatives
11. A MAP IN HAND
The Purposes to Which Maps Have Been Put
CONCLUSION
FURTHER RESOURCES
INDEX
CREDITS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR & ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
About the author
Philip Parker is a writer, consultant and publisher specializing in ancient and medieval political and military systems. He studied history at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, and is the author of A History of Britain in Maps (2016), the DK Eyewitness Companion Guide to World History (2010), The Atlas of Atlases (2022) and many more.
Summary
This lavishly illustrated book provides a unique insight into the evolution of mapmaking and the science behind it, from the stone age to the digital age.
Britain’s leading cartographic author takes us on a historical journey through how the greatest maps were created. Exploring key cartographers and mapmaking methods, as well as fascinating interludes on subjects such as the very first maps, deliberate mistakes, and superlative maps, this comprehensive guide explores how the techniques and technology have developed throughout human history:
• Evolving methods of surveying: from the Roman groma, through the naval instruments of the magnetic compass, astrolabes and sextants, to the 20th century revolution of aerial photography
• Drawing tools and materials: from Babylonian maps carved in clay, to digital maps created via touchscreen
• The introduction of various mapping conventions and key components of a map: from Ptolemy's introduction of longitude and latitude, through the 13th century origins of having north at the top, to the various projections used to represent the Earth.
With visually stunning historic maps and antique instruments, this book will engross readers with its fascinating stories of how we came to chart our world.
