Cartographica Extraordinaire: The Historical Map Transformed [Hardcover]

David Rumsey (Author), Edith M Punt (Author), Edith M. Punt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2004

Assembling some of the finest cartographic examples from private collection of renowned map collector David Rumsey, this atlas bridges the gap between historical cartography and exploration and the new technologies and applications of geographic information systems (GIS). More than a lavish collection of cartographic masterworks, this book tells two paralled stories. The first story lays out the relevant history, the human players, and the events that place each map in the context of the time in which it was created. The second thread, of particular interest to cartographers, designers, map lovers, and geographers, tells the stories of the maps themselves--how they were created and the lessons they can teach modern cartographers and other designers of information and visual communication.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

A high-quality album consisting of 120 historical maps, principally of North America, this work hints at the future of cartography, which is being revolutionized by a sophisticated mapping technology called geographic information systems (GIS). Several maps here, such as a depiction of the route of Lewis and Clark, exhibit how GIS can meld historic information with remote-sensing data. The authors' captions explain the technology underlying the images. The owner of a collection containing more than 100,000 cartographic artifacts, Rumsey is systematically digitizing his maps and posting them at http://www.davidrumsey.com. This is presumably for the benefit of GIS specialists, while this book will satisfy those who simply want to see a beautiful historical map. The viewer will encounter the maps of John Fremont, bird's-eye perspectives of cities, and the maps of the American West made by the U.S. Geological Survey in the late 1800s. Although it is costly, this work is sure to wow map fans. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

From the Inside Flap

Featuring the David Rumsey Map Collection
The David Rumsey Map Collection can be accessed at Davidrumsey.com

"Cartographica Extraordinaire is extraordinary in many ways. Unlike many books on map history, this one shows us maps we have never seen before, in juxtapositions we have never imagined, with huge double-page spreads and details up close and personal that enable us to read every word and sometimes even the texture of the lines and the paper. Extraordinary also is the value of this book as a gateway into the Rumsey Web site—the chronological listing of all illustrations in the book is carefully referenced to the digital collection on the Internet where users can select their own details. This is a powerful teaching tool and will reestablish the importance of maps in studying our history."
David Woodward, The Arthur H. Robinson Professor of Geography Emeritus, University of Wisconsin–Madison, and editor, History of Cartography

"Cartographica Extraordinaire alluringly presents the highlights of a remarkable collection of historical maps. What makes this book stand out from other published map archives, though, is its reflection of the generosity, energy, and intellectual curiosity of David Rumsey. Not satisfied with merely amassing a hoard of handsome old maps, Rumsey, who has already shared his collection with us online, shows us in these breathtaking pages why old maps are so interesting. In the process of telling stories about maps, handsomely reproducing maps, enlarging map details, stitching maps together, and combining maps with the latest digital data, Rumsey and Punt expose us to the joyous disorder of cartophilia."
Allen Carroll, Chief Cartographer, National Geographic Society

"Rumsey has provided clear reproductions of a rich array of maps from his remarkable collection in a manner which allows the reader to actually use them; accompanying texts place the maps in historical sequence. The reader of the work will discover the relationship of maps, as historical documents, to the textual history with which we are familiar, and allow maps to assume their honored place among primary documents."
Dr. John R. Hébert, Chief, Geography and Map Division, Library of Congress

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 200 pages
• Publisher: ESRI Press; 1 edition (March 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1589480449
• ISBN-13: 978-1589480445
• Product Dimensions: 13.6 x 13 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #790,679 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars History Through Illuminating Maps, September 15, 2004

By 

R. Hardy "Rob Hardy" (Columbus, Mississippi USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Cartographica Extraordinaire: The Historical Map Transformed (Hardcover)

David Rumsey was fascinated by maps as a kid, and they were always papered onto the walls of his room. The fascination with maps did not leave him, through several degrees in fine art and a career in real estate. He amassed one of the largest private collections of maps, The David Rumsey Historical Map Collection, 150,000 catalogued items stored on the ground floor of his house in San Francisco, which is a working library for people to use. The items are wall maps, folding maps, globes, map puzzles, and many others. There is a sampling of the collection in _Cartographica Extraordinaire: The Historical Map Transformed_ (ESRI Press) by David Rumsey and Edith M. Punt, a slim but large-paged, handsome volume containing all kinds of maps concentrating on North America. They show the history of America, to be sure, but are also a history of mapmaking. Rumsey has painstakingly put items in his collection on the Internet, so he himself is participating in mapmaking history, and some pages of this beautiful book demonstrate what can be done with maps transformed into pixels.

Looking at these lovely maps is to participate a bit in Rumsey's enthusiasm, which one can pick up from his introduction: "A map, especially a historical map, ... communicates both above and below the narrow bands of language and observation." There are only a hundred and twenty or so maps selected here, but besides being beautiful objects to contemplate, they show an amazingly diverse range of ideas: how people explored coasts, or how train schedules were arranged before we had standard time zones, or how we claimed, organized, and sold the land. For those of us who only look at highway maps, there is an enormous education here. It is barely possible to mention the subjects of some of these maps; if this subject matter at all interests you, nothing will do except to get the book itself and look through the pages. For instance, the map by William Clark (of Lewis and Clark) of the trek across western America is here, but in a version issued by Rumsey in celebration of the 200th anniversary of their travels. It shows the original drawing, seamlessly enclosed within the General Land Survey's first map of the area, which is itself within a 1971 map of a US Geographic Survey National Atlas, which in turn is within a Landsat mosaic from NASA. The joins of the maps are seamless because they all were turned into computer data that could be massaged in just the right way, and because they are "georectified" to match up perfectly. This was hardest to do with Clark's 1814 map, which because of survey and navigation limitations of his time (not because of sloppy mapmaking) had accurate latitudes and distorted longitudes.

Rumsey's collection exists physically, of course, but access to the historical maps entailed the basic problem of "many hands taking hold of rare and delicate objects." Digital photography and computer storage have opened his collection for anyone who wants to look, and you don't even have to be there physically. He has found that magnified images of the maps can show details that were obscure even in the originals. Astonishingly, information compression has meant that a picture that originally required 400 megabytes can actually be stored in 3% of that size without loss of image quality. By digitizing his maps and making them available, Rumsey has himself stepped into cartographic history. This book is a demonstration in book form of what Geographic Information Systems can do, and Rumsey sees the "digital wizardry of GIS not as a break from the past and old mapping traditions," but part of those traditions. If you go to the website, you can look around anywhere; there is no guide. _Cartographica Extraordinaire_, on the other hand, has the job of demonstrating the progress of history and of information display, and does both engagingly and handsomely.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An outstanding and representative collection, July 9, 2004

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cartographica Extraordinaire: The Historical Map Transformed (Hardcover)

The impressively collaborative work of David Rumsey (President of Cartography Associates, a San Francisco-based digital publishing company, and Director of Luna Imaging, a provider of enterprise software for online image collections) and Edith M. Punt (professional cartographer and recipient of the 1996 National Geographic Award in Cartography), Cartographica Extraordinaire: The Historical Map Transformed is a 160-page, hardcover, coffee-table book printed on archival paper which showcases how technology has literally transformed the restoration, re-creation and reproduction of historical maps. The specific focus is upon maps (and the people who made them) that reflect American history and ranges from a 1736 atlas depicting California as an island, to a Civil War era "bird's-eye" view of military positions on the southeastern seaboard. This is an outstanding and representative collection drawn from the David Rumsey Map Collection and illustrates early American history from a uniquely geographic perspective. With it's informed and informative text, Cartographica Extraordinaire is clearly recommended for inclusion into professional, academic and community library Cartography Studies or American History collections. Indeed, Cartographica Extraordinaire would make an excellent selection for a truly unique Library Memorial Fund acquisition.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not just extraordinary, it's amazing, July 4, 2004

By 

Nick Chrisman, Professor of Cartography (Seattle WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cartographica Extraordinaire: The Historical Map Transformed (Hardcover)

At first sight, this is a gorgeous book. It exhibits historical maps made in nineteenth century America, and the reader might expect a reverential approach of the map collector that David Rumsey exemplifies. But David Rumsey is also the person who provides amazing open access to his collection through the highest tech web site. He sees maps not just as curiosities, but as a way to get inside the past. With Edith Punt, they have tied the maps into the social, environmental and technological changes that are shown. They use the most current geographic information systems technology to spark a connection to the current landscape. The old fragile maps come alive. While this book has the format and polish of your average coffee table book, this is a book to read and reread.