Mapping Map Elements

[rasagy]

Let’s start with a map inspiration exercise.

Find an example of a map and make a small map taxonomy chart with examples of key elements, such as:

• Typography (How do labels of country vs city vs river vs forests differ?)
• Color (Land vs Water vs specific regions vs admin boundaries vs transportation or PoI)
• Iconography (Land use, PoI, transportation)
• Patterns or textures
• Any other detail that you notice

For each map, write about:

• link to the map
• the designer/cartographer
• the topic/area the map represents
• the style of map
• what you loved
• what could be better

References

• David Rumsey’s Cartography Archive
• Rasagy’s Map Board on Pinterest
• Example of Map Taxonomy Chart by Nathaniel Slaughter that I showed in class
• Check out the previous editions of this exercise on #79, #76 & #64.

[yashrawat458]

Yashwant Rawat 23m2254 Selected Map - Delhi & Environs

[ArjunC-1]

Arjun Chawla-22B3624 Selected map-The Tabula Peutingeriana https://www.tha.de/~harsch/Chronologia/Lspost03/Tabula/tab_pe00.html

While the original creator is disputed, the current map is a parchment copy dating from around 1200 of a Late Antique original.

-A highly schematic and distorted map, The Tabula Peutingeriana is a map that shows the entirety of the Roman Empire along with India and the East. -Designed to give a practical overview of the road network, as opposed to an accurate representation of geographic features. It represents these roads as a series of roughly parallel lines along which destinations have been marked in order of travel. The distances between the settlements are also given.  

[manyawww]

Manya Wahi (22B3618) Selected Map- Carta Marina by Olaus Magnus https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Carta_Marina.jpeg

[hayat-tamboli]

Hayat Tamboli - 23M2249 Selected Map - Tokyo railway system. January 2016 Designed by Zero Per Zero

[vijayanand-25]

Vijayanand Banahatti (23D1322) Selected map: British India sketch maps of the cities of Poona & Kirkee (1924)

What I liked: A map is drwan to the scale of Pune city around 1924 which depicts main city residential area, road, river, canal, railway track. What could be better: The iconography could be better to represent important structures, example "Temples" are not identifiable. River crossing road structure such as "Bridge" is not shown differently. The dark solid lines are for non-motarable road or river tributary is not clear.

[TanmayKuwalekar]

Tanmay Kuwalekar 23M2245 Map : India. Printed in England by Alf Cooke Ltd.

[Sydney1306]

Nitya Vyas 23M2248

Map: https://www.deuxdegres.net/references/carte-euratlantique/ A Map of Bordeaux by Mathieu Zimmer

[Anumeha7]

Anumeha Patoria 23m2244 Inn-Signia of Whitbread Houses in East Kent. source

[Yuva306]

Yuva 22b3612

Map- Robinson's Aeroplane Map of Sydney https://www.loc.gov/resource/g8964s.ct000517/?r=0.183,0.46,1.004,0.71,0

[gouraang-gune]

Benares and Environs by J.G. Bartholomew

This map of Benares by J. G. Bartholomew was published by The Imperial Gazetteer of India in the year 1931.

Things I Loved: The map shows a fairly accurate version of Benares as it was in the early 1900s. The colours used are simple and are used fairly intuitively (green for parks and grasslands, red for settlements) and make for an interesting colour palette.

Things that could be better: This map does not show quite a few major historical locations in Benares such as the Kashi Vishwanath Temple at all. Kashi Vishwanath is one of the oldest and most important Hindu Temples and a very important reason for people to visit Benares. This map also lacks important information such as names of roads.

[Khushboo768]

Khushboo Kumari 23M2251

Tabula Hungariae - the oldest surviving printed map of Hungary, 1528

[antibodhi]

Sidharth Goutham K 23M2252

Red Dead Redemption 2 Map Created by Rockstar Games

The map represents a fictional 1800s United States in the fantasy world of Red Dead Redemption. Its style resembles an old printed map with scribbles and doodles made by a person, giving it a personal, hand-drawn feel. The art style effectively communicates a lot with limited colors, and the iconography is clear and easy to understand. While the interactive maps reveal essential details, a full-size static map could have incorporated even more intricate elements for a richer experience.

[evana23m2242]

https://maps-prints.com/antique-maps-india-ceylon/12941-antique-map-of-the-malabar-coast-by-baldaeus-1744.html

Cartographer : Philip Baldaeus (1632–1672), a Dutch Calvinist missionary and scholar, was a notable figure in documenting the geography, culture, and history of South India and Sri Lanka during the Dutch East India Company's (VOC) presence in these regions.This map of the Malabar Coast is based on his extensive travels and observations. It likely draws on both his first-hand experience and the knowledge accumulated by the VOC during their dominance of the spice trade in the region.His work was important in increasing European understanding of the Malabar Coast, especially regarding trade routes, local cultures, and the geopolitical landscape, which was crucial for the colonial ambitions of the Dutch and later British.

Significance of the Map : The 1744 map created by Baldaeus reflects the Dutch interest in the Malabar Coast, which was a key region in the global spice trade. The detailed geographic representation provided insight into port cities and trade routes vital for European powers. Additionally, the map visually captures the Dutch ambition and influence during this period of maritime exploration and economic competition in the Indian Ocean.

Type of Map : Navigational Map

What i like :

• The map uses artistic tools, such as detailed cartouches and figures, making it aesthetically appealing. It blends art with cartography
• demarcates key areas along the coast of India, along with locations of major trading ports. It also shows the nearby islands (like the Maldives), which were important for trade routes.
• This map represents not just geography but the power structures of the time, indicating colonial or imperial control.

What could have been better :

• Distorted proportions: Coastal and inland areas are not to accurate scale.
• Lack of interior detail: Inland regions and topography are underrepresented.
• Typography& Legends : There is no legend to what the colours/textures or different types stand for.

[AnkitaThakur1309]

Ankita Thakur 23M2246

america septentrionalis map america septentrionalis map

Designer/Cartographer: George Willey Topic/Area: North America Style: Early modern cartography with decorative elements and limited accuracy What I Loved: Uniqueness, different iconography, Historical charm, and artistic details What Could Be Better: Improved geographical accuracy and clarity of details; could not read much of it

[nachiketnanoty]

[saikatb1swas]

Saikat Biswas, 23M2255

Map: GTA: San Andreas, High Res (Reddit), Interactive (Fan Made) A fictional city named San Andreas, consisting of three major metropolitan cities: Los Santos, San Fierro, and Las Venturas, based on Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Las Vegas, respectively.

[yashkaranjavkar]

Yash Karanjavkar | 23M2250 Map from: Barry Lawrance Ruderman Antique Maps

The chosen map - “Plan de Bombay et ses environs.” is one made by the navigator Captain Jacques Nicolas Bellin (1703-1772) in 1764 and was published in 1980 in the atlas compiled by Susan Gole in New Delhi of “Early Printed Maps of India.”

[KeSaanu]

Kyawsaanu Mog 22B3609

Tokyo and Vicinity (showing all the bombed area)

Things I loved - The map is accurate and extremely detailed and the map is in dual languages which shows the historical context of this map as it was made by the US army after WW2 . As a document of post-war Tokyo, it serves as a valuable historical record that shows not only the geography but also the impact of conflict on urban development.

Things that could be better - While use of dual languages is appreciated, due to so much text in some areas it becomes too muddle up to read. The iconography used could be improved as well as some of them just disappear with the background Japanese text at times

[Adith3608]

Adith M Sajeev 22B3625 https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~359993~90127132:-Plan-of-St--Petersburg-?qvq=q:city%3D*%20;lc:RUMSEY~8~1&mi=319&trs=21442#

What i love in this map

• The Colour used in this Map, very nice.
• Very detailed map, fun to go through it

What could have been better

• The map was in Russian Language so was not able to understand the map in depth

[TejalK22]

Tejal Kalgutkar 24M2525

Map of Maremma Toscana, Italy by Nikola Ovsek

Source

The goal of the map was to provide an all-encompassing representation of the region, highlighting a wide range of activities and points of interest including but not limited to: bicycle routes, historical routes, famous buildings, lakes, spas and much more.

[Bairipawan]

Pawan Kumar 23m2253 Bangalore city Map Art print by impressive infographics

[zohamid]

Shahjanabad or Modern Delhi - 1911

[Risn7]

Aman Singh 22b3633 1572 City Map of London

[Prateekpal41366]

Prateek Pal 22b3617

The Plan of New Capital Punjab is a rare 1951 map https://bostonraremaps.com/inventory/le-corbusier-punjab-capital-chandigarh-1951/

Creator: Le Corbusier in 1951

What i loved:

• Grid Layout and Zoning
• Human-Centric Approach
• Integration of Nature
• Focus on Traffic Management
• Visual Unity and Cohesion

What could be better

• Improvement Public Transport Infrastructure
• Enhanced Pedestrian and Cyclist Infrastructure

[des-gaurav]

Map Taxonomy Chart Assignment Gaurav Bisht 22b3605 link to the map: India Orientalis drive link to this Taxonomy chart

India Orientalis, 1606 by Gerard Mercator This map, created by Hondius, showcases China (,India) and Southeast Asia in fine old colors, from a French edition of the Mercator-Hondius Atlas. It is one of the most exquisite early Dutch maps of the region, originally published in 1606 as part of 37 new maps engraved for Jodocus Hondius' expanded Dutch edition of the Mercator Atlas. The map spans from India to the southern coasts of China, featuring the Pearl River Estuary, Canton, and Formosa. It also includes the entire Malay Peninsula, Indochina, northern Borneo, and the Philippines. Decorative elements feature a large sea monster, an oriental junk in the Bay of Bengal, and elegant scrollwork on the title and scale cartouches.

what I like:

• detailed and good looking textures
• illustrations
• ornamental scrollwork (especially the decoration on the map scale)
• noticeable early example of Mercator projection

what I dislike:

• lack of legends (might have been present in the original Atlas)
• typography, at places, is too ornamental to read
• shows ships but no sea routes

[HarshAgrawal04]

Harsh Agrawal 22b3629

Link to the map - Casablanca

Casablanca, 1964 by Francis Bererd

The map reflects French colonial influence, with sectors marked in red, including trolley and bus routes. Notable locations of interest are listed in the upper left corner. This map was likely published in a French guidebook and printed in Lyon. It highlights the historical context of French occupation in Morocco and the legacy that persisted after the 1956 end of French rule.

[namit900]

Namit Tirkey (23M2256)

Map: Pictorial road map of metropolitan New York

Pocket pictorial road map of New York, featuring the World's Fair of 1939, showing railways, roads, bridges, steamship routes, buildings, parks, bodies of water, drainage, coastlines and islands.

The map includes a legend, bar scale given in miles and compass rose with north oriented toward top of sheet. The map was created as a tourist map for people driving into the city to visit the 1939 New York World’s Fair. The map also has an inset map which shows Pulaski Skyway and approaches to Holland and Lincoln Tunnels.

What I liked:

1. The map is quite expressive in its purpose of showing the routes to the World’s Fair highlighted in red color. It uses bright colors to showcase the sponsor and its respective advertisements of the oil stations and offices.The map includes a detailed legend including the various symbols and line types to show hierarchy in routes and its respective designations. This enhances the map's utility to new users or those unfamiliar with the area.

2. The use of distinct icons to mark important places like museums, landmarks, and transportation hubs makes it easier for users to identify key locations at a glance.

3. The map uses a pleasant and varied color palette to distinguish different areas, like parks, bodies of water, and urban areas, which helps in quickly getting a sense of the landscape.

What could've been better:

1. Some areas of the map appear cluttered with text and symbols going in all directions, which can make specific information hard to read or locate.

2. The text, particularly in crowded areas, is small and might be challenging to read, especially if the map is used in a physical format where zooming in isn't an option.

3. Even though the map was created in the year 1939, it is important to mention that the use of certain depictions of places and areas such as, The Ghetto, Italian District, Chinatown and Harlem might be problematic especially in today’s context. In general, the use of very specific pictorials might not suit everyone and might give off the wrong idea to the viewer.

[yashrawat458]

Shahjanabad or Modern Delhi - 1911

Hi @zohamid, just letting you know that i have used the same map in my submission here, that is already done, would be nice if you can avoid using the same one.