The Brussels Map Circle

Home → News

News

To commemorate the centenary of the end of what then was called the War to end all wars (H. G. Wells 1914) from a cartographical perspective, the International Journal of Cartography (IJoC, see http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tica20) has invited the ICA Commission on the History of Cartography to guest edit a special issue to appear in November 2018.
The emphasis of the special issue will be on how the first truly global and industrialized war helped to emerge new ways to capture survey data, speed up processing and printing and, last but not least, introducing significant map series. For that focus on technologies and resulting cartographic products, maps on diplomacy and propaganda are intentionally outside the scope of the special issue.
Alongside already solicited contributions the ICA Commission on the History of Cartography does invite expressions of interest by way of submitting brief abstracts on two categories of articles:
  • Overview papers of national scope (about 10-16 pages in print, for IJoC guidelines on the manuscript see http://www.tandfonline.com/action/authorSubmission?journalCode=tica20&page=instructions) and
  • Papers on special topics (about 4-8 pages in print) either with a regional focus (e.g. the Gallipoli Campaign) or a topical focus (e.g. emergence of aeronautical charts).
For overview papers of national scope special consideration will be given to the following national cartographies of war:
  • United Kingdom (Western Front and other theatres of war)
  • France (Western Front and other theatres of war)
  • Russia (Eastern Europe and Caucasus Front)
  • Italy
  • Japan
To conceptualize a contribution please note that each page in the special issue equals about 700 words, will be printed in full color and that thus a half page size figure takes up about 350 words.
Abstracts should be up to 500 words, plus a brief biographical notice. Abstracts (and subsequently accepted articles) should be written in English.
Deadline for submissions of abstracts: 17 October 2017. Notification of acceptance for the Special Issue: 31 October 2017. Deadline for submissions of manuscript, incl. all attachments (figures): 31 March 2018.
All questions and submissions should be sent electronically to the guest editor: Imre Josef Demhardt, e-mail: demhardt@uta.edu
Dr. Imre Josef Demhardt, Professor & Jenkins and Virginia Garrett Chair in the History of Cartography; Chair: International Cartographic Association, Commission on the History of Cartography, The University of Texas at Arlington, Department of History, Box 19529, Arlington

Posted on

Sur France Culture, le 24 août 2017 de 9h00 à 10h00.
Quatrième émission ce matin consacrée aux histoires du Moyen Âge, la cartographie.
La redécouverte de l'oeuvre du géographe alexandrin Ptolémée à la fin du XIVe siècle a pu laisser penser que le Moyen Âge n'avait pas produit de savoirs cartographiques ; il n'en est rien !
Un débat historiographique co-animé par Victor Macé de Lépinay
avec Emmanuelle Vagnon, Chargée de recherche CNRS au LAMOP et Jean-Charles Ducene, Directeur d'études à l'École Pratique des Hautes Etudes.
Lien : https://www.franceculture.fr/emissions/la-fabrique-de-lhistoire/histoires-du-moyen-age-45-la-cartographie-medievale

Posted on

T. Čelkis, V. Karpova-Čelkienė (Vilnius) Reading signs: manuscript cartography sources of the 16th-19th century from the Vilnius University Library
G. Mihalakopoulos (Corfu) Alexandros Massavetas's 'Going back to Constantinople-Istanbul: A City of Absences': mapping the past and the present through literature
Ch. J. J. Thiry (Golden CO) GIS-based discovery interface to paper map sets
K. Kozica (Warsaw) Different states of the sea chart of the Gulf of Riga by Lucas Janszoon Waghenaer (1534-1606) from his first sea atlas Spiegel der Zeevaert (1583 / 1585) in the Niewodniczański Collection Imago Poloniae at the Royal Castle in Warsaw
N. B. Piekielek (State College, PA) Best practices for georeferencing large scale historical fire insurance maps of the USA

Posted on

The Directors of Imago Mundi Ltd are delighted to announce that the seventh Imago Mundi Prize has been awarded to Federico Ferretti for A New Map of the Franco-Brazilian Border Dispute (1900), which appeared in Imago Mundi 67:2 (2015): 229–41. Dr Federico Ferretti is a lecturer at the School of Geography, University College, Dublin.
The author has made a convincing and novel contribution to the history of cartography in the the service of diplomacy conducted over the border dispute between French Guiana and Brazil and arbitrated by Swiss scholars in 1900. Based on the newly discovered maps and archives of the explorer Henri Coudreau (1859-1899) and the geographer Élisée Reclus (1830-1905), the author reveals the political usefulness of the maps and shows them in a more subversive role rather than the more usual one exemplifying the power of the state.
The prize is offered every two years. This award covers volumes 67 (2015) and 68 (2016). The winning article is the one judged 'to have made the most significant contribution to the discipline'. Only full-length articles, which are automatically subjected to the (anonymous) external refereeing process before acceptance for publication, are eligible for the prize.
The prize is USD 1000.00 and qualified the recipient for a J. B. Harley Travel Award to the biennial International Conference on the History of Cartography (Belo Horizonte, Brazil), where the prize was presented on 14 July 2017.
The Imago Mundi Prize is generously sponsored by Kenneth Nebenzahl. By courtesy of our publishers, Routledge Journals (Taylor & Francis), Federico Ferretti's article is being made available free of charge at http://www.tandfonline.com/imagomundi (click on the pictorial link in the left margin).
Received from Tony Campbell, Chairman, Imago Mundi Ltd

Posted on

Contents

  • Exhibitions
    • Enlarging the World
  • Looks at Books
    • Vincenzo Coronelli - Cosmographer (1650-1718)
    • Mapping Antartica - A five hundred year record of discovery
    • The islands of the end of the world. Depiction of the Fortunate Isles on the maps of the medieval West
    • The Making of the Indian Ocean. Maps from East and West (Antiquity - 16th century)
  • History and Cartography
    • François Valentijn’s Influential Maps of the Cape of Good Hope
    • The Medici Family and cartography in Florence
    • Cooperation on digital library of Waldseemüller map
  • Interview
    • Where are they now?
  • Map Circle news
    • Map Circle Annual Activity report
    • International Conference 9 December 2017
    • Early maps of Indonesia-Draft programme
  • News and Calendars
    • International news
    • Events calendar
    • Exhibition calendar
    • Auction calendar

Posted on

This exhibition is by no means a mere display of maps (although the true map lover will of course frown at the words 'mere' and 'maps' in one sentence!).
Quite the contrary: the whole context in which these maps were made is illustrated with a multitude of objects, all of them beautifully displayed in an appealing scenography with multimedia and touchscreens. Just to make clear this is an exhibition you can take the whole family to, even the kids: everyone will find something interesting there. You will learn about the creation of the VOC and the political economical background, about the first voyages to Cape Good Hope, then further to Ceylon and India, to Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan and China. The life on board is explained, the contacts with the locals and their effect, the discovery of new plants, animals, spices. But also the slave trade and the often brutal behaviour of the European participants to these 'explorations' is shown. All of this documented with original letters, books, deeds and … maps, of course!
These maps range from the 16th to the 18th century, including city plans, vista's and charts and are almost exclusively manuscript or in any case unique. There is also a special section on navigation and cartography. For a list of the maps on display: click here.
The exhibition language is Dutch but a tablet available in English can guide you through the exhibits. The Dutch United East India Company Book isn't a real catalogue, but much more than that: it gives you the background to what you will see. Available on the spot and in bookshops at EUR 29.95.
This exhibition is a very good introduction to our international conference! Find the conference programme here.

Posted on

Issue 98 (Spring 2017), consisting of 80 pages, was published in March 2017 and is in distribution to all paid subscribers and members in good standing of the Washington Map Society. Copies are available for purchase.
2016 Ristow Prize Winner Ana del Cid Mendoza explores orientalist cartographies, with emphasis on Granada and the Alhambra in Spain. Matthew B. Gilmore describes the impact of Frederick Law Olmsted and the Olmsted Firm had on the current road system in Washington DC. Cheryl LaRoche uses maps to explain the functioning of the Underground Railroad and routes taken northward by American slaves to escape bondage during the US Civil War. Joseph Schirò traces the pedigree of a fascinating atlas. Bert Johnson shares the most recent news from the upcoming ICHC in Brazil. Ralph Ehrenberg receives tributes on his retirement, and Paulette Hasier, his successor at the Geography and Map Division, Library of Congress, is introduced and interviewed. There are two book reviews, and more.

Posted on

Dear Friends,
I had previously contacted you with a grandiose idea of celebrating the 250th anniversary of Cook’s discovery of the east coast of Australia, in Sydney, with a Historic Cartography meeting in Sydney that would attract attention across the spectrum of bodies representing interest in the discipline. The key person is Maggie Patton of the State Library, and she has been on long service leave. Her support of course was essential. She has agreed to be the primary sponsor, and has booked the Libraries facilities for September 7-9. It is probable that we will have a post conference trip to Canberra with a visit to the NLA, and its wonderful collection.I know that you need dates for planning. I do hope you see this as an unusual opportunity, and can now decide exactly the level of interest your organisations may have in being part of this.
This is a major occasion in Australia, and there will be much to do. September is a good time to be in Sydney, and of course the State Library is the collection of Pacific material. The major exhibition related to Cook is being held over at the Library for the meeting. I would encourage you to communicate with Maggie, but i am happy to help in any way I can.
With best wishes,
Robert
Emeritus Professor Robert Clancy AM FRS(N), (e): clancy_robert@hotmail.com, (m): 0402 130 445
4 April 2017

Posted on