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hi folks,
Last night I attended a very lively folk music session at my friendly
local hostelry. One of the songs performed - by a Dublin based band
called "Hada to Hada" (don't ask me why) - referred to a piece of art
as "a ballad for the optic nerve". This symbolism got me thinking
cartographically: maps can be fairly dry reference documents, etc., but
a good map can also "tell a tale", and a rare few actually have a strong
artistic /aesthetic quality in their own right. So are there any maps that
could justifiably be described as "ballads for the optic nerve"?
 
I wondered would the MAPS-L community like to contribute their own
suggestions of contemporary maps (preferably published ones that we could
all get our hands on if desired) that have particularly meritorious aesthetic
and artistic properties, in addition to their information content. In other
words, what are the best examples of "beautiful" maps, and why?
 
Darius Bartlett