Antique Maps 2019 Wall Calendar

For centuries, explorers, merchants, and military forces have relied upon maps to help them describe and navigate our planet. Although historical maps were often skillfully drawn and meticulously plotted, their layout tells only part of the story. Using anecdotal evidence and sometimes scant geographical data for places they themselves may never have seen, cartographers frequently included embellishments to tease the imagination and the intellect—thus a map of the United States doubles as a board game, and Claes Janszoon Visscher’s Holland is drafted in the shape of a lion. Included in this sampling are a dozen antique map reproductions from the British Library’s vast and complex collection of cartographic material.