Antique Maps 2010 Wall Calendar BY Silver Lining

by 2010 Silver Lining

Product Details

• ASIN: 1435112288
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #149,779 in Office Products (See Top 100 in Office Products)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: February 26, 2010

Customer Reviews

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For their historical beauty, not accuracy, September 9, 2009

By 

Judy K. Polhemus "Book Collector" (Louisiana) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Antique Maps 2010 Wall Calendar BY Silver Lining (Office Product)

Lately I've been consumed by maps and map reading. When I saw this calendar by Silver Lining--"Antique Maps 2010"--posted for sale at a local (national) bookstore, I popped that puppy right up. Didn't even have to think about it, but then turned to the back to check out all twelve months. Indeed, a two-way winner!

First, the winning aspect of the technical, providing this information printed on back:

"Silver Lining calendars conserve natural resources, reduce pollution, and preserve endangered forests by using 100% recycled paper that is bleached without use of chlorine. We have replaced traditional petroleum-based inks with soy-based inks. Even our shrink-wrap and corrugated packaging are recycled materials."

Then a very specific list of "saved resources" is listed:

12,921 fully grown trees

603,554 pounds of solid waste, etc.

"Environmental benefits are calculated based on research done by Environmental Defense Fund, Paper Task Force, and Conservatree data."

This Green Press information alone is a big incentive to choose this antique maps calendar.

Then there's the content! The maps are gorgeous mainly because of their historical significance, but don't discount their individual artistic merit (I think so!) or modern-day date keeping. (Note: However, one map quite repulses me. It looks like the dissected innards of a recent corpse. Ug!)

Many of the maps were created by Dutch cartographers. A fantastic double spherical version of the earth, plus allegorical figures of fire, air, water, earth, was created by Henricus Hondius (1587-1638).

I wish you could see the map for October. Incredible! So many of the maps are approaching accuracy, but this one is so far wrong, but does present an interesting and developing historical rendering. You see, South America is just a shapeless mass, while the area of the future United States is twice its current size. This is Ortelius's 1570 version of the "other side" of the ocean.

December's map/calendar rendering of the earth laid out on paper is another in this fine line of antique maps. Again, the area of the United States is shown twice its size, with a direct head's down view of the north and south points of the Earth. Framing the map on all four sides are series of things: allegorical figures of the four Caesars, four continents, and eight important cities.

I plan to remove the calendar maps, add the historical information found in the captions, and display some of these maps around the library. At some point they will become teaching tools. I hope those early cartographers will be pleased.

(Please note that this particular calendar is offered on an extremely limited basis, but Amazon offers several easily obtainable choices at pleasant prices.)