Several messages concerning maps that are cartographic ballads.----Johnnie ------------------------------------------- Wed, 9 Feb 1994 20:08 EST Ugly Surveyor <EDNEY@BINGVAXA> RE: Cartographic ballads Darius raises the question of maps which might be "ballards for the optic nerve." A good source book is one titled "Pictorial Maps" ca. 1992 by a New York publisher, done by an illustrator for Time Magazine whose name escapes me ... I thought I had the book checked out of the library but I cannot find it on my shelf ... I also HIGHLY recommend the incredible eighteenth-century MS maps and plans done by the Ecole des Ponts et Chaussees, as reproduced in full color by Antoine Picon and Michel Yvon, "L'Ingenieur Artiste: Dessins anciens de l'Ecole des Ponts et Chaussees" (Paris, 1989). My favorites are the trompe l'oeil images of several maps of different styles and scales all laid atop each other (pp.57-61), also reproduced in black and white in Picon's "French Architects and Engineers in the Age of Enlightenment" (Cambridge University Press, 1992), 211-228. (this last book is currently my favorite visual and intellectual feast, at least until the next volume of the History of Cartography appears.) Matthew Edney ------------------------------------------------------- Wed, 9 Feb 94 16:31:50 EST [log in to unmask] (Keith Clarke) Re: Cartographic ballads Re; Darius's challenge on "a ballad for the optic nerve". I nominate the Raven colored map of U.S. Lower 48 Shaded Relief. It combines digital shading and esthetic colors, and just looks great! Keith Clarke ------------------------------------------------ Wed, 09 Feb 94 12:24:28 PST Dave Gomberg <[log in to unmask]> Re: Cartographic ballads There is a map that is often held up as a brilliant use of descriptive statistics. It is the famous map of the size of Napolean's army as they advanced on Moscow and then retreated after being nearly wiped out by the cold of a Russian winter. It is not "artistically" beautiful, but it is a potent example of the power of maps to communicate. Sad to say, I don't remember the name of the cartographer, but it is so famous I am sure someone on this list will know who it was. It is easy to find in contemporary textbooks. Dave Gomberg, role model for those who don't ask much in their fantasy lives. GOMBERG@UCSFVM Internet node UCSFVM.UCSF.EDU fax-> (415)731-7797 For info on West Coast Live send email to [log in to unmask] ----------------------------------------------- [log in to unmask] (Iain Taylor) Re: Cartographic ballads Thu, 10 Feb 1994 08:16:33 -0500 (EST) At the joint NACIS/CCA meeting to be held in Ottawa in Aug. there will be a display of maps sent in from across Canada as potential cnadidates for the International Cartographic Assoc. exhibition in Barcelona next year. Beauty as well as more mundane aspects of map design and innovation will be among the points on which these maps will be judged. Just thought you might have a candidtae or two there. Iain taylor National Atlas of Canada --------------------------------------------------- Thu, 10 Feb 1994 08:31:00 -0500 (EST) ALAN BRENNER 908-906-6830 <[log in to unmask]> RE: Cartographic ballads Edward Tufte's _Envisioning Information_ (1990. Cheshire, CT. Graphics Press) is a good starting point for (carto)graphic excellence. He provides several good examples of maps that are both informative and beautiful. In addition, I would add the maps of the Swiss cartographer, Walter Isaard (if I remember the name correctly). His topographic maps (in particular, the terrain shading) are wonderful, although this may be in part due to the physical geography. Alan Brenner My thoughts may not reflect Agency policy, etc....... U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region II, ESD [log in to unmask] OR [log in to unmask] --------------------------------------------------------- 10 Feb 94 08:07:39 CST John A Olson <[log in to unmask]> beautiful maps In regards to the question posed by Darius. I think that any of the maps produced by Raven Maps and Images from Medford, Oregon come to my mind first. Particularly the Crater Lake and Hawaii maps. John A. Olson (612) 624-5757 S-76 Wilson Library Fax: (612) 626-9353 309 19th Ave. S. Bitnet: j-olso@uminn1 Minneapolis, MN 55455 Internet: [log in to unmask]