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MAPS AND OTHER
THINGS GEOGRAPHICAL
Just like nostalgia for the 1960s, geography’s coming
back.
Of course, the ranks of the Royale Geographic Society
in London aren’t necessarily swelling these days. And
most US children still can’t name the capital cities
of our 50 states, if indeed they can name the 50
states.
But geography is on the upswing.
Why do I know this? Travel is as ubiquitous as taxes,
and if you want to get there from here, first you have
to know where you are, and where in the world you want
to go. More importantly, Carmen Sandiego board games
are selling like hot cakes. Really. The Rand McNally
Map & Travel store at the St. Louis Galleria can’t
keep them in stock.
And unless you navigate by the stars and you’re a whiz
with a sextant, maps are the key to travel.
Christopher Columbus would have been lost without the
early Viking renderings of the Canary Islands, and
Marco Polo relied on wandering herdsmen for
information on the Silk Road. Because everything in
life needs a menu, modern day explorers, even bush
yuppies, know it’s downright foolish to tread where
others have already gone…without the benefit of their
knowledge.
So: Wanderlust is a birthright; maps are in. But a
good atlas is more than fashionable, and owning a
gazetteer exudes class.
Geographical dictionaries of sorts, gazetteers give
you the lowdown on terrain, maybe more than the
average tourist needs or wants. Looking for high
ground to pitch camp at the Ngorongoro Crater in
Tanzania? Get a topographical gazetteer. Unsure where
to find a remote beach in the Carolinas? Get a sand
beach gazetteer.
Although all places on the planet aren’t guaranteed,
DeLorme Mapping Company produces some mighty off-beat
gazetteers and atlantes such as Block Island’s Back
Roads and Outdoor Recreation. As any serious
outdoorsman or expedition leader knows for a fact, you
never want to be up a creek without a gazetteer.
And without your own personal map or atlas, how do you
even know which faraway countries you must visit
someday. Oh sure, you can hang out in public libraries
sniffing the stuffy air, stroking old wooden table
tops and flipping through the Times Atlas, arguably
the finest atlas in the world. You could even buy it
yourself for $195. But why? when a pocketsize Mini
World Atlas by the same cartographer, John Bartholomew
& Son, is available for a mere $15.95.
Before J. Peterman Company went out of business, you
could buy it there, or at the Rand McNally Map shops.
The notions departments of some stores, like Nieman
Marcus, carry assorted maps and world atlantes and
other interesting geographical paraphernalia – soft
sculptures and beach balls of the world, flags and
flag books come to mind. If you’re a lucky shopper,
you’ll come across Mapwrap, geography’s special brand
of gift wrapping paper.
Map freaks like me have more than one world atlas to
run our fingers through; to close our eyes and dream
over. There’s Hammond’s or the Reader’s Digest Atlas
of the World. Then there’s Rand McNally’s City Maps of
Europe, or Rail Maps of Europe by Map Link of Santa
Barbara.
And then, oh yes, then there are antique maps, charts
and delineations like the giant treasure I picked up
at an estate auction, which illustrates all the
Medieval castles along the Danube River. Each one of
this remarkable two-part series – bound between
unattached leather covers – stretches a full, nine
feet.
Obviously, there’s no end to the hours of
entertainment trapped between the covers of maps and
atlantes. This is king size entertainment that spreads
joy over billiards tables, completely, or engulfs
Polar bear rugs in front of the hearth.
The dizzying effect of having the world “in the palm
of your hand” is only enhanced by globes, themselves:
spinning; spinning; spinning. The Prime Meridian here;
the Island Continent there; that night in Istanbul, an
unforgettable memory.
But memories and fantasies-to-come are merely the guts
of globes. The icing is in the knowledge, the
self-satisfying pleasure of knowing place, which is
even more thrilling than winning the
every-Friday-night Jeopardy game.
Actually, any Old World globe junky can tell you, some
globes are quite valuable. Be sure to keep yours with
the USSR intact. And if you have one of Africa before
that continent’s nationalization?...Oh my, how simple
life and geography were back then.
By Barbara Bowers © 1995
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