Why Collect Antique Maps?
Old maps have an immediate visual appeal, and can instantly grab people’s attention.
We have all witnessed people walk straight over to inspect an old map, not out of appreciation for the beautiful cartouches, the wonderful calligraphy, and fine engraving; aspects of no import to the non-collector anyway, but to search out familiar places or landmarks on the map before them.
This sense of place however is just one reason why people become interested in having their own collection of maps, and if they do it starts them on a fascinating journey through time.
Affordable Pieces of History
Old maps are much more than old pieces of paper, they are brilliant records of times long gone. Their remarkable survival through the centuries, a wonder in itself considering their delicate nature and the turbulent history of the past 500 years, provide the collector with tangible and affordable pieces of history, which they can enjoy from the comfort of their own home.
These maps, which involved the input of numerous scholars, artists and craftsmen, during their production, sometimes over a period of years, have been an under valued resource for many years.
Now with the advent of the internet and free access to information and sellers, many new collectors have entered the fray, and taken to collecting maps as a hobby.
Some do it as their own small way of preserving a piece of history, others because they like to record the development of their town, village, city, county etc. Others because they like the wonderful craftsmanship and others for investment or as something to leave to their children. Whatever the reason, the growth in interest in map collecting has been truly amazingl over the past 15 years, especially in the area of maps relating to Ireland. (More on that later)
A Window to the Past
Cartography as defined by the dictionary is 'the art and science of mapmaking'. A definition which sees it fall into two fields of study. In reality however, this is a rather disingenuous and simplistic definition, especially when it comes to the collecting of the items themselves.
In a way, you could liken antique maps to time machines, where the collector is transported through history to witness the developments which together, came to form our modern world. Subjects as varied as printing and publishing, art and astronomy, technology and science, mathematics and religion etc. can all be viewed from the window of that time machine. A window to the past.
On that journey, the collector will unearth stories of discovery and conquest, of economic expansion and religious intolerance, of war and peace, of plagues and famine. He will witness stories of how men went from heroes to heretics with the flourish of a quill. He will encounter the disintegration of kingdoms and the building of empires. He will be transported back in time to an age of discovery, when great sacrifices did not always result in great rewards, when the search for truth and knowledge went side by side with debauchery and the ruthless pursuit of power and wealth. They are the visual record of the story of European expansion.
As the satirical German poet Sebastian Brant so aptly captured in verse, (two years after Columbus' voyage, in 1494)
"To lands by Portugal discovered
To golden isles which Spain uncovered
With brownish natives in the nude
We never knew such vastitude."
And above all the collector will hear about how the brilliance and courage of certain individuals gave us a better understanding of the world in which we now live.
Pursuit of Knowledge
To look at an old map is to step back into the past, to see countries, places and people as they were in the time of our ancestors. On a different level, maps tell of man's pursuit of knowledge, his quest to see what lies beyond the next mountain or hill, what sort of people live across a river, lake or sea.
What cultures, knowledge, riches and opportunities await the traveller! Maps are a record of human ingenuity, and are a record of man's unique ability to gain mastery over the landscape and his environment.
The story of maps and the story of man's development is the same story. They are indelibly linked.
Next: Why Collect Irish Maps?
