Martin Wood reminds me that some books from Scouting, especially of the mid-20th century, would be sources. I recall as a scout having an old field guide from my uncle. It included, as I recall, sections on maps and map interpretation, especially of topographic maps, and use of a plane table and other basic tools to make simple maps. The Boy Scout Fieldbook, rather than the Boy Scout Manual, would be the source to look for.

I can recall at a Camporee (local, and lower key event, not the World Jamboree, which I never attended), among the competitive events was map interpretation. Using the 7.5-minute quadrangle, a participant was to indicate the location of the camp ground where the event was taking place. I had wished I had been tasked for that event. Instead I was to make a set of tent stakes from lengths of pine limbs. A useful skill, to be sure, but I wanted the map! That was before I knew much about topographic quads, which I learned later from the familiar look, was what was being used.

Also, to meet requirements for First Class, a few years before that, I had to draw a map of a designated area. In this case, it was not required to be to scale, and consisted mainly of roads and intersections. It was a good way to get an idea of the relationship of roads to each other, their directions, and where they cross, bodies of water such as streams, and so on. It helped for learning the cardinal directions as they relate to the ground around me, as well. I also recall learning the points of a compass, the 8-point system.

So, yes, I am myself a product of at least a small part of those "boys skills".

Ken Grabach

Maps Librarian

BEST Library, 219D

Miami University Libraries

Oxford, OH 45056 USA

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513-529-1726

On Tue, Jun 28, 2016 at 8:35 PM, Malcomb, Lou <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

I like the idea. In researching maps about the Civil War I ran across a citation to A manual of topographical drawing. by Lieut. R.S.. Smith. (Richard Somers), 1813-1877. 1854. It was used at West Point to teach mapping. I found it quite interesting, appreciating the instruction on the use of pencils—something many of us rarely use these days. It is in the HathiTrust online. http://hdl.handle.net/2027/chi.086404745

From: Maps-L: Map Librarians, etc. [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Michael Holt
Sent: Tuesday, June 28, 2016 1:29 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: The old ways

Today I was loaned all three volumes of The Boy Mechanic. They were published in 1913, 1915, and 1919. In Book 2 the first article is "Plane Table Surveying," by Harold G. McGee. This one is the only thing I have found so far about maps, but from a two-minute glance at each of them, drafting and drafting tools are a part of being a boy a century ago. Might there be any interest in republishing articles like this, about how to make maps at home? I can imagine it being done in some high schools.

I'll try to have the pages copied (my scanner is dead), but I will have these books for only a few days.

Michael Holt

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