-------- Original Message --------
Subject: RE: date code for maps reference question from patron
Date: Thu, 6 Dec 2012 18:46:39 -0500
From: David Alston <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
David
Thanks for this information; it actually is very helpful. I've been
using Rand McNally's road atlases from various years during the 1960s
through the 90s to help sort out some of the dates, so this info about
the timing Arrow's various address and name changes helps make that a
little more precise.
For anyone interested, I've been able to finally decipher the coding
system on MAPCO's (Map Corporation of America) maps, published between
January, 1955 and October, 1964 as well.
MAPCO's maps all carry one code - a long string of numbers and letters
which incorporates a precise date of publication, cartographer initials,
and a company stock number all in one alphanumeric string.
Some examples:
MAPCO's map of New Orleans, LA: 474-JS96B35-1596-16(NC1052)
Look for a single letter surrounded by two pairs of numbers. In this
case, it's 96B35. The date of publication is September 5, 1963. This
code (96B35) is duplicated on the inner rear bottom of the cardstock
folder/cover on all of MAPCO's maps published after 1960 as well.
Other examples:
MAPCO's map of Cincinnati, OH: JM 55E916-693-113 (R379)
The date of publication is 55E916: May 16, 1959
MAPCO's map of Modesto, CA: JP 55A928-600-19
The date of publication is 55A928: May 28, 1959
With other publishers I've been collecting, some have been easy (Thomas
Brothers, Ashburn, Hagstrom) always used either a date or a date code.
Some of the others - Geographia and Dolph, along with Arrow did not, and
I've had to rely on comparisons, landmarks, the presence of interstate
highways, etc, to properly date them. The 'CUMBERLAND' date code that
Geographia supposedly used isn't present on any of the 40+ Geographia
maps I've collected. With Dolph, it's been slightly easier - one
cartographer (T. M. Politano) almost always initialed the maps that he
drafted (which were Dolph's first full-color maps), and those were all
created between 1950 and 1955. If those base maps were kept up-to-date
into the 1960s, his initialing disappeared from the maps, but he drafted
in an identifiable style (slanted hand-lettering) that is
characteristic, and different from other Dolph maps from the same era.
Dolph also used specific cover designs for specific periods of time.
Thanks again for the info, and I hope the MAPCO coding info is of some
help to someone.
David Alston
> Date: Thu, 6 Dec 2012 13:48:22 -0600
> From: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: date code for maps reference question from patron
> To: [log in to unmask]
>
> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: RE: date code for maps reference question from patron
> Date: Thu, 6 Dec 2012 19:31:11 +0000
> From: MCQUILLAN, DAVID <[log in to unmask]>
> To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
>
> There are several ways to look at this and none is very precise. You
> can go by area of publication, up to 1970 in Boston, 1971 - 72 Newton
> Upper Falls, mid 1980s Canton, and later Taunton; or by company name --
> Polk in the early years, Arrow Map Co. in 1967, Arrow Maps, Inc. and
> Pathfinder in 1970, Arrow Publishing Co. in 1989. The codes are only on
> a few maps that we hold, so the best you can do is compare with other
> publishers' maps with known dates.
>
> David C. McQuillan
> Map Cataloger
> Thomas Cooper Library
> University of South Carolina
> Columbia, SC 29208
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Maps, Air Photo, GIS Forum - Map Librarianship
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Angie Cope, American
> Geographical Society Library, UW Milwaukee
> Sent: Thursday, December 06, 2012 2:04 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: date code for maps reference question from patron
>
> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: date code for maps reference question from patron
> Date: Thu, 6 Dec 2012 14:00:07 -0500
> From: Redmond, Edward James <[log in to unmask]>
> To: 'Maps, Air Photo, GIS Forum - Map Librarianship'
> <[log in to unmask]>
>
>
>
> All:
>
> I received a question from a patron looking who is "looking for map date
> code information for Arrow Maps, R L Polk, or Arrow Publishing and
> finding it indecipherable".
>
> ( I assume that the patron is cataloging their own collection)
>
> Of course, WAML has some info from David Cobb on its date code page (
> http://www.waml.org/datecode.html#arrow ) but can anyone out there in
> map land suggest other sources?
>
> "Arrow Map
>
> A number which often appears on the panel or in the margin of a map.
> Take the last two digits of the last four numbers and invert them, e.g.,
> 3680 1209R = 1990. Do not confuse with the stock number, which is also
> in the same vicinity. (Source: David Cobb, Harvard Map Collection)"
>
> Ed Redmond
>
> Geography & Map Reference Specialist
>
> Library of Congress
>
> Washington, DC 20540 - 4650
>
> [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
>
> 202-707-8548
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