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Historical Atlases Come of Age

in Historical Atlases: The First Three Hundred Years, 1570-1870

The century whose opening Napoleon dominated also witnessed at its start two makers of maps for history who achieved remarkable commercial success and, in doing so, set an example that their peers ... More

The century whose opening Napoleon dominated also witnessed at its start two makers of maps for history who achieved remarkable commercial success and, in doing so, set an example that their peers could hardly avoid noticing. The Atlas Lesage is largely detached from the historical atlases of its time. Many of its “maps” consist entirely of letterpress. There is no sequence of geographic images at successive intervals of history. The layout of the entire Atlas Lesage stemmed from the then-standard geographic atlas of the world rather than from the collections of “sequential” historical maps. Las Cases preferred synchronic maps to sequential ones. The Atlas Lesage reproduces Speed's battles map in an attenuated form. Historical atlases organized by country, or subdivided into general and particular maps, were much more common in 1846, when Spruner's great volume of maps for European history reached its sixth and last installment, than when the opening installment had been issued nearly a decade earlier.Less

From 1700, New Departures

in Historical Atlases: The First Three Hundred Years, 1570-1870

Three quarters of the way through the eighteenth century, Johann Christoph Gatterer, professor of history at the University of Gottingen, prepared a map collection in forty-four sheets, of which ... More

Three quarters of the way through the eighteenth century, Johann Christoph Gatterer, professor of history at the University of Gottingen, prepared a map collection in forty-four sheets, of which twenty-four formed a historical atlas from approximately a.d. 100 to 1500. Gatterer's atlas for use in classrooms indicates how far maps for history had advanced toward respectability. The eighteenth century experienced a livelier pace of change: from its earliest decade, maps were published, often in groups of two or three, detailing moments of medieval history. Innovations were intermittent, suggesting that mapmakers worked with little competition or cooperation among themselves, at least in this part of their labors. By the middle of the eighteenth century, two models for a historical atlas had been devised: a topical plan in chronological order, exemplified by Hase's “Greatest Empires”; and a succession of time intervals projected on a uniform, usually universal background, exemplified by the Paris draft, Dupre, and others.Less

Sixteenth- and Seventeenth-Century Atlases Relevant to History

in Historical Atlases: The First Three Hundred Years, 1570-1870

The origin of historical atlases, as now conceived, presupposes that a “geography” called “ancient” or “old” signified ancient history. It follows from this reasoning that atlases that embody ... More

The origin of historical atlases, as now conceived, presupposes that a “geography” called “ancient” or “old” signified ancient history. It follows from this reasoning that atlases that embody “ancient geography” may be freely said to contain “historical” maps and to form “historical” collections. This substitution of “history” for “geography” is hasty and uncalled for: old geography was no less geographic than the “new” variety. The discipline of ancient geography fascinated geographers and mapmakers for a long time. The acquisition of Ptolemy by Latin scholars revived a science of geography, and capped the ancient geographical literature known to Europeans. Chronologically specific scenes embodying geography were created before Ortelius. The comprehensive historical atlases of the future depended on bridging the ancient and modern branches of geography and on realizing that all the past, or all parts of it, were the subject needing to be mapped. Inhibited from yielding to these directives, the Parergon and its progeny retreated gradually into a niche.Less

Introduction

in Historical Atlases: The First Three Hundred Years, 1570-1870

The Theatrum orbis terrarium of Abraham Ortelius, often called the first modern atlas of geography, was in its entirety “dedicated to the understanding of history.” Ortelius's Theatrum and its ... More

The Theatrum orbis terrarium of Abraham Ortelius, often called the first modern atlas of geography, was in its entirety “dedicated to the understanding of history.” Ortelius's Theatrum and its successors contain all-purpose maps potentially helpful to readers of history. The historical atlases circulating today are diverse. Some, usually devoted to a single region or country, are lavish in thematic detail and in exacting scholarly preparation. Others perpetuate a long-standing fascination with the geography of the classical world and the Bible. Historical atlases with a general scope—costly productions with exacting technical demands—occasion much cooperation among European and American publishers. Historical atlases are alive and well today. Some recent ones embody a high order of scholarship; others stand out for their artwork; a few have had enviable commercial success.Less

Conclusion

in Historical Atlases: The First Three Hundred Years, 1570-1870

Nineteenth-century maps for medieval history added nothing new to the ways in which the past is portrayed. Examples of these methods, or types, can be detected in the earliest period and continue to ... More

Nineteenth-century maps for medieval history added nothing new to the ways in which the past is portrayed. Examples of these methods, or types, can be detected in the earliest period and continue to appear in the historical atlases of today. Ptolemy's provincial maps of “ancient geography” may serve as examples, with the difference that no date was affixed to them; rather, they were only implicitly qualified as “ancient.” A major improvement came when someone took a portrayal of the ancient eastern Mediterranean, fastened a suitable inscription to it, and, by this device, turned geography into a historical guide to the journeys of Saint Paul. Pictures are expected to pack more meaning into their lines, shapes, and colors than cumbersome words manage to express. The surprising thing is how rarely nonverbal eloquence has been attempted, let alone achieved.Less

The Graphic Foundations of American History

Susan Schulten

in Mapping the Nation: History and Cartography in Nineteenth-Century America

In colonial America, maps were rarely used to make sense of the past. The birth of the American Republic made maps an important tool for documenting a “national” past that extended back to the ... More

In colonial America, maps were rarely used to make sense of the past. The birth of the American Republic made maps an important tool for documenting a “national” past that extended back to the fifteenth century, particularly with David Ramsay's attempt to chart and map history in the 1810s. Historical maps eventually spread widely, in part due to the improved capacity to design maps alongside thematic mapping and other graphic forms of knowledge. Historical atlases offered an appealing way to document national development in terms of territorial growth. Maps of the past flourished because of their unique capability to visualize the country's territorial growth and political development. This chapter first discusses the concept of historical cartography before turning to the development of charts and maps of time in the early Republic. It then examines the relationship between historical knowledge and the nation by focusing on the career of Emma Willard, one of the most influential educators in nineteenth-century America. In particular, it analyzes Willard's most enduring text, a historical atlas entitled Willard's History of the United States, or The Republic of America.Less