Blog
A Revelation in Road Guides
It’s no secret that I’m a fan of transportation maps, especially those published during the first half of the 20th century. Such a short period of time saw greater changes to human mobility than any other span in history. The widespread adoption of the airplane and...
You Never Know What you Might Find…
It's not uncommon to encounter random odds and ends when looking through old books and atlases. Dried and pressed leaves, scribbled notes, and newspaper clippings are some of the 'surprises' that I come across most frequently. More often than not, these finds are a...
Mapping Change #1 – Indiana DNR
This is the first post to explore a sequence of maps over time. By showcasing the various maps together in one location, I hope to highlight both their similarities and differences as well as identify specific trends and changes. Below we have four pictorial maps of...
Love is in the Air and on the Map
To (somewhat belatedly) celebrate Valentine's Day this year, I wanted to share with you a love story that can be traced on maps going back decades. It all started in 1962 with the establishment of TourMap, Inc. by Robert (Dick) and Marjorie Ingalls of Seattle,...
Catalog #1 – Chicago
Click here to see the entire list.Certain selections and commentary below (functions best on desktop/tablet, due to length).Categories include: The Early DaysThe Great FireColumbian ExpoGrowth of the CityCentury of ProgressUsing the LandSuburbsTransportationChicago...
The Regicide of the ‘Monarch of the Plains.’
The tragic loss of Native American population and indigenous culture is one of the most calamitous effects from the gradual westward migration of settlers during the 19th century. A less visible, but no less gruesome, fate was shared by one of the most important...
A City Risen From The Ashes
Richard's Illustrated and Statistical Map of the Great Conflagration in Chicago. Image courtesy of the Newberry Library. On the night of October 8, 1871, a small fire broke out in Chicago’s Near West Side, at the site of today’s CFD Quinn Fire Academy. (Though you may...
That’s One Way to Use a Map
People naturally gravitate to maps of places with which they have a close personal affinity. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that I’m constantly looking for maps of my hometown, despite not having lived there for well over a decade. To my great surprise, I...
A Victory Map on Victory Day
Happy V-J (Victory over Japan) Day from Curtis Wright Maps! Though many consider September 2nd (the date of formal surrender) to be the official anniversary, on August 14th, 1945, (in the U.S.) Emperor Hirohito announced over the airwaves of Japan that he had accepted...
The Tracks of the U.S.S. Lexington
To celebrate the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II, I will be examining a new map from the war each month of 2020. In an earlier issue, we explored how the 5th Armored Division (The "Victory" Division) commemorated their campaign in the European Theater. But...