BIMCC For map enthusiasts

2012 Mercator Year - Events, News and Exhibitions

This year is the fitfth centenary of the birth of Gerardus Mercator, the great cartographer, cosmographer, and instrument and globe maker; this gives rise to a number of symposia and commemorative events in various European countries; we have noted the following :

For all details, please go to the full Events, News and Exhibitions section

L. Van Biesbroeck, Gerard Mercator | 1512 - 1594,
Place du Petit Sablon / Kleine Zavel in Brussels

BIMCC President Caroline De Candt wished Happy birthday to
Mercator at a small ceremony in Brussels on Monday 5 March 2012.

Mercator Digitaal: 4 March - 26 August 2012; Sint-Niklaas, Belgium
Mercator's birthday celebration: 5 March 2012; Brussels
Mercator Schätze – Die Duisburger Sammlung neu Präsentiert Gerhard Mercator - a special exhibition: 5 March – 2 December 2012; Duisburg, Germany
500 Jahre Gerhard Mercator - Vom Weltbild der Renaissance zum Kartenbild der Moderne: 10 March - 10 June 2012; Dortmund, Germany
Gerardus Mercator’s Library (part of Mercator Digitaal): 24 March - 1 July 2012; Sint-Niklaas, Belgium
Mercator: Reizen in het onbekende [Journeys into the unknown]: 25 March 2012 – 17 June 2012; Antwerp, Belgium
Talks on Mercator and related topics: March to June 2012, almost one every week, different learned speakers each time; Sint-Niklaas, Belgium
Mercator Revisited – Cartography in the Age of Discovery: 25 - 28 April 2012; Sint-Niklaas, Belgium
Mercator's original Atlas, and Une source royale pour Mercator [A Royal Source for Mercator]: 25 April - 29 July 2012; Brussels
Publication of a facsimile of the Mercator-Hondius-Atlas, 2nd edition 1607: The book will be available in April 2012.
30th IMCoS Symposium: 500 Years Mercator: 9 - 12 September 2012; Vienna
Mercator - Hondius - BIMCC International Conference: 8 December 2012; Brussels

International BIMCC conference - Brazil on Early Maps

On Saturday 10 December 2011, around 50 map enthusiasts - professionals and amateurs, BIMCC members and non- members who had seen the conference advertised in the context of the Europalia festival - met at the Royal Library of Belgium in Brussels for the Annual International Conference. As is the tradition, the theme of the conference was aligned with the Europalia festival, which takes place every two years, and this year is on the theme of Brazil.

The eminent speakers were: Iris Kantor, from the University of Sao Paulo, Martijn Storms (University Library, Leiden), Professor Raymond Buve (University of Leiden), Professor Ben Teensma (University of Leiden),

The conference started with a stunning video shown by Ms Kantor, showing the evolution of Brazil in maps from the very earliest representations onwards. This really set the scene for the rest of the day. The variety of presentations for the single theme was both extremely interesting and gave a nicely rounded picture of the subject matter: an excellent overview of maps of Brazil taking the evolution of toponyms as the theme, a close-up of a single map, the Marcgraf map of Dutch Brazil, a history of the maps of Dutch Brazil, and finally a look at the Dutch West India Company "rutters" - a set of instructions for finding the way.

Wouter Bracke, Head of the Maps and Plans department of the Royal Library, had organised a superb display of maps of Brazil in the entrance hall, so there was plenty to do in breaks, and before and after the conference itself.

In addition, a couple of information clips:

The International Society for the History of the Map (ISHM) was set up in London 1 December 2011. It will hold its first AGM on 30 June 2012 in Budapest.
The 26th International Conference on the History of Cartography will be held in Antwerp in 2015. Everyone is welcome!