-------- Original Message -------- Subject: Re: The decline and fall of the descriptive gazetteer Date: Wed, 15 Jan 2014 19:23:02 +0000 From: humphrey <[log in to unmask]> To: Angie Cope, American Geographical Society Library, UW Milwaukee <[log in to unmask]> I don’t know much about Chinese gazetteers — but that is precisely why Peter Bol at Harvard is my co-author on this chapter. I am very aware that there are other parts of the world besides N America, W Europe and China, and would be very interested in comments on them … Humphrey On 15 Jan 2014, at 18:54, Angie Cope, American Geographical Society Library, UW Milwaukee <[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote: > > ------- Original Message -------- > Subject: Re: The decline and fall of the descriptive gazetteer > Date: Wed, 15 Jan 2014 12:37:46 -0500 > From: Joel Kovarsky <[log in to unmask]> > To: Maps, Air Photo, GIS Forum - Map Librarianship > <[log in to unmask]> > > > > I am assuming your focus is on Western European gazetteers, and > perhaps more focused on those British. Their history in China may be > older: > <http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/2719404?uid=3739936&uid=2&uid=4&uid=3739256&sid=21103277674257> > and > <http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=17066178&show=abstract> > . Given my lack of linguistic skill, I have no idea how these > structurally compare to later western counterparts, although looking > at that paper it appears they tended to be quite regional. > > Given your ongoing and extensive involvement with this subject, it > would not surprise me if you already knew this. > > > Joel Kovarsky > > On 1/15/2014 12:15 PM, Angie Cope, American Geographical Society > Library, UW Milwaukee wrote: >> >> forwarded by Angie >> >> -------- Original Message -------- >> Subject: The decline and fall of the descriptive gazetteer >> Date: Wed, 15 Jan 2014 16:27:32 +0000 >> From: humphrey <[log in to unmask]> >> Reply-To: A forum for issues related to map & spatial data >> librarianship <[log in to unmask]> >> To: [log in to unmask] >> >> >> >> As some members of this list will know, I am co-editing a book about >> gazetteers, especially future digital gazetteers; but also authoring >> an introductory chapter which looks at the history of gazetteers, a >> surprisingly little explored topic. >> >> Our general point is that, although most people’s idea of a gazetteer >> is simply a list of geographical names each with some kind of >> coordinate and sometime with a simple “feature type”, like >> “settlement” or “mountain”, there is an earlier history of gazetteers >> which provide lengthy descriptions of each place/feature. >> >> We have computerised several of these for our web site, A Vision of >> Britain through Time, and are currently working on tidying up the >> seven-volume "/Gazetteer of the World, or Dictionary of Geographical >> Knowledge,/published by Fullarton's of Edinburgh in 1856; this has >> already been digitised within Google Books, but we are turning it >> into clean database content. We estimate it contains around 80,000 >> entries and 7m words, so the average entry is a couple of sentences, >> and many go on for several pages. Similarly, this “entry” for >> Edinburgh in Groome’s /Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland/ (1882-4) >> contains over 100,000 words: >> >> http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/descriptions/108700 >> >> SUCH BOOKS ARE NOT SO MUCH PLACE DICTIONARIES AS PLACE >> ENCYCLOPAEDIAS. I HAVE BEEN EXPLORING THEIR EARLY HISTORY, BUT THIS >> POSTING IS TO ASK ABOUT THEIR LATER HISTORY, AFTER 1900. >> >> My basic narrative at the moment is that descriptive gazetteers, as >> distinct from itineraries, first appear in the mid to late >> seventeenth century, and the lengthiest examples come from the second >> half of the nineteenth century — but they then pretty much stop — >> when I have looked at the shelves of gazetteers in various libraries >> I have mainly seen books from the 19th century, occasionally earlier. >> >> The exceptions seem to be: >> >> — There are of course lots of atlases which also include a gazetteer >> at the back (but this is about books which are primarily text) >> >> — Bartholomew have kept publishing revised editions of their >> Gazetteer of the British Isles (but that has relatively short >> entries, so more a place dictionary than an encyclopaedia). >> >> — Various guides aimed mainly at tourists are organised as sets of >> alphabetically arranged entries about places, with descriptions; for >> example, various Shell Guides. However, map libraries are less likely >> to hold these. >> >> IS THIS A FAIR NARRATIVE? WHAT HAPPENED TO THE BIG DESCRIPTIVE >> GAZETTEERS AFTER 1900? >> >> One suggestion is that they were supplanted by broader >> encyclopaedias, a substantial fraction of whose headwords are >> typically toponyms. I have sometimes suggested that the world’s >> biggest and most widely used digital gazetteer is now Wikipedia; I >> once sampled 100 randomly selected Wikipedia articles, and about 30% >> had an associated global coordinate. >> >> I WOULD BE VERY GRATEFUL FOR ANY THOUGHTS ANYONE HAS. I continue to >> find it bizarre that so much has been written about the history of >> maps and so little about the history of gazetteers and itineraries. >> >> With thanks, >> >> Humphrey Southall >> >> Reader in Geography/ >> Director, GB Historical GIS >> University of Portsmouth >> Geography Dept, Buckingham Bldg, >> Lion Terrace, Portsmouth PO1 3HE, UK >> www.gbhgis.org <http://www.gbhgis.org/> & www.visionofbritain.org.uk >> <http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/> >> >> > > -- > Joel Kovarsky > The Prime Meridian > 1839 Clay Dr., Crozet, VA 22932 USA > Phone: 434-823-5696 > Email:[log in to unmask] > Website:http://www.theprimemeridian.com > > Humphrey Southall Reader in Geography/ Director, GB Historical GIS University of Portsmouth Geography Dept, Buckingham Bldg, Lion Terrace, Portsmouth PO1 3HE, UK www.gbhgis.org <http://www.gbhgis.org/> & www.visionofbritain.org.uk <http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/>