Pictorial Maps: "History, Design, Ideas, Sources" [Hardcover]

Nigel Holmes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1991

This book is about the history and making of pictorial maps, a graphic art form found increasingly in newspapers, in magazines, and on television. As opposed to atlas-type maps (a pure reference form that presents information without comment or observation), pictorial maps have a specific purpose and focus. This book begins with an illustrated history of pictorial maps through the ages. Subsequent sections cover the use of pictorial maps in America, in the world, in war and its news coverage, and in reporting the weather (including the development of "USA's Today"'s trendsetting back-page weather map). The second half of the book concentrates on the map making process. It shows how to make the various kinds of map projections. Included here are the new Robinson projection, which has solved many distortion problems; the computer's use in map making; how to present mountainous terrain convincingly; pictorial symbols used in maps - even a chapter on drawing maps for friends.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Watson-Guptill (October 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0823040135
• ISBN-13: 978-0823040131
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,391,619 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Nigel Holmes (born 1942) grew up in England, and moved to the US in 1978 to work at Time Magazine. When he left in 1994 he was the graphics director, and had written three books about graphic design. (They're out of print now, but Amazon usually has second-hand copies.) Other books include Wordless Diagrams (2005) and Nigel Holmes on Information Design (2006), by Steven Heller. His latest book Pinhole and the Expedition to the Jungle is for children of about 11 or 12.