{"id":1788400,"date":"2020-02-14T10:35:39","date_gmt":"2020-02-14T15:35:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/?p=1788400"},"modified":"2020-09-13T08:48:13","modified_gmt":"2020-09-13T12:48:13","slug":"in-search-of-lost-islands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2020\/02\/in-search-of-lost-islands\/","title":{"rendered":"In Search of Lost Islands"},"content":{"rendered":"

W<\/span>e expect maps<\/span> to tell the truth; indeed we need<\/em> them to on a fierce and primal level. \u201cI believe cartography enjoys an enviable position of credibility and confidence among the people who see it. If you see it mapped, you believe,\u201d wrote Charles Blow last fall<\/a>; he was writing in response to Trump\u2019s petty defacement of a hurricane forecast map with a marker. The reaction to Trump\u2019s stunt, was, I thought<\/a>, revealing. It\u2019s part and parcel with what Matthew Edney refers to as the ideal<\/em> of cartography<\/a>: striving toward a universal, unbiased and perfect map.<\/p>\n

When a map has a mistake on it, when it\u2019s wrong, it does something funny to our heads. We obey our phones and dashboard GPS navigators even when they send us off a cliff. We concoct nutty theories about ancient civilizations because a 16th-century portolan chart had a funny bend on a coastline<\/a>. We wonder, because someone wrote \u201chere be dragons\u201d on a map, whether dragons were actually real<\/a>. We make brain pretzels trying to force<\/em> maps to be truthful even when they are manifestly wrong.<\/span>1<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Maps have<\/em> to tell the truth. They simply have to. Maybe that\u2019s why stories about mistakes on the map<\/a>, and the havoc those mistakes cause, fascinate us so much. Which brings me to three books, all published for the first time in 2016, that talk about map errors of an older kind: islands and other features that appeared on maps, sometimes for centuries, that in the end turned out not to exist.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Long before we got this funny idea that maps had to be truthful, before Edney\u2019s ideal of cartography took hold, maps were full of conjectures, rumours, mistakes in surveying and even some outright frauds.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Reproduction of the 1558 Zeno Map from Henrich Peter von Eggers, Priisskrift om Gr\u00f8nlands \u00d8sterbygds sande Beliggenhed<\/em>, 1793. Wikimedia Commons<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Take, for example, Frisland<\/a>. A hoax perpetuated by the 14th-century Zeno brothers<\/a> of Venice, or possibly their 16th century descendent: the latter published a book of the Zeno brothers\u2019 correspondence in which they described their travels to Frisland, a large island south of Iceland in the North Atlantic with a Latin-speaking ruler. (Many phantom islands of the era seem to be full of previously undiscovered Christian realms where Latin is spoken: they\u2019re a westerly variant of the Prester John<\/a> legend.) The story was swallowed whole, and Frisland appeared on many maps; England claimed it. It took centuries for the Frisland myth to disappear completely. (Previously: The Invention of Frisland<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Detail showing Bermeja from Henry S. Tanner, “A Map of the United States of Mexico,” 1846. David Rumsey Map Collection<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Or for a more recent example, the island of Bermeja<\/a> in the Gulf of Mexico. First sighted in the 16th century (but not since), it remained on maps of the region into the 20th century. In 2009 a Mexican aerial survey determined the non-existence of the island<\/a>, which led to some conspiracy theories that it had been destroyed by the Americans: its position might have been important in determining who owned the subsurface oil exploitation rights in the Gulf of Mexico, and an agreement with the U.S. had just been completed on that very issue.<\/p>\n

\u201c[A]s the story of Bermeja demonstrates, a fascinating characteristic of many of these misbeliefs is their remarkable durability,\u201d writes Edward Brooke-Hitching in The Phantom Atlas<\/em><\/strong><\/a> (Simon & Schuster UK, Nov 2016; Chronicle<\/a>, Apr 2018). Indeed, as all three of the books under review today demonstrate, phantom islands<\/a> continue to be \u201cun-discovered\u201d into the present day.<\/p>\n

But where do phantom islands come from? \u201cAmong the multitude of non-existent islands that have appeared on maps over the past few centuries,\u201d writes Malachy Tallack in The Un-Discovered Islands<\/em><\/strong><\/a> (Birlinn<\/a>, Oct 2016; Picador<\/a>, Nov 2017), \u201cthe vast majority are the result of mistakes. They are accidental phantoms, caused by imperfect navigation, optical illusions or poor recording by mariners and cartographers. Sometimes, though, there is no accident at all. Islands are invented deliberately, often creating inordinate confusion as a result.\u201d To that list Brooke-Hitching adds mythology and religious dogma, which surely must have been at play with not just Frisland, but Hy-Brasil<\/a> and Saint Brendan\u2019s Island<\/a> too; as well as volcanic destruction, because that can be a thing; and, because The Phantom Atlas<\/em> isn\u2019t just talking about islands, copyright traps<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"LexikonIn the end, the solution to a phantom island is more exploration: repeated voyages and surveys. Of course, establishing that something doesn\u2019t<\/em> exist\u2014proving a negative, in other words\u2014is much more difficult than suggesting that it existed in the first place. \u201cOften, the process of refuting the existence of an island is more exciting, but also more complicated and dangerous, than its discovery,\u201d<\/span>2<\/sup><\/a><\/span> writes Dirk Liesemer in Phantom Islands<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, first published in Germany in 2016 as Lexikon der Phantominseln<\/em><\/a> (Mare<\/a>), now translated into English by Peter Lewis and published, last October, by Haus<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So, three books, with the same premise, covering the same territory, often using the same examples, and in much the same way, published at more or less the same time. Must have been something in the water.<\/span>3<\/sup><\/a><\/span> These books are more similar than not. It\u2019s tempting to treat them as a whole. So I will.<\/p>\n

Each is a collection of short chapters explaining how an island was added to the map, and how it was found out not to exist. I\u2019m glossing over a lot in that sentence: there are some truly fascinating stories in these books. The Un-Discovered Islands<\/em> covers twenty-four of them (with another ten briefly mentioned), arranged by theme; Phantom Islands<\/em> covers thirty, in alphabetical order. The Phantom Atlas<\/em> has sixty chapters, also arranged alphabetically, and goes beyond islands to other geographical features, and indeed to more intangible subjects, with chapters on the various monsters found on maps, and the ideas of a flat earth and an earthly paradise.<\/p>\n

Naturally there is some overlap: a total of 11 mythical islands are covered by all three books, for example. (These are, for the record, Antilla<\/a>, Atlantis<\/a>, the Aurora Islands<\/a>, Bermeja, Buss Island<\/a>, Crocker Land<\/a>, Frisland, Hy-Brasil, Saint Brendan\u2019s Island, Sandy Island<\/a> and Thule<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

\"TheBoth Phantom Islands<\/em> and The Un-Discovered Islands<\/em> are relatively short, at 160 and 144 pages respectively. They\u2019re elegantly designed but more illustrated than mapped, if you follow me. The Phantom Atlas<\/em> is nearly twice as long and has two to three times the chapters (it also costs twice as much); it fills that space with reproductions of maps and art and other illustrations. (I read the ebook version, which in hindsight was a mistake: you get the images, but not the page layout.) The Phantom Atlas<\/em> has its eye set on the coffee table: it\u2019s the kind of map book you look<\/em> at as much as you read it. The other two not so much, but they make up for it with stronger prose: each of these little books make for an afternoon\u2019s pleasant reading, with The Un-Discovered Islands<\/em> being a little more slight, and Phantom Islands<\/em> having a somewhat different focus owing to its originally being written for a German audience.<\/p>\n

In the end it depends on what you\u2019re looking for. Information on phantom islands is readily available online, but these books spin their tales better, and The Phantom Atlas<\/em> has better pictures. And these books\u2019 overlap (see above) is not so much that you\u2019d be wasting your time or money by reading all three. Particularly if you find this subject fascinating.<\/p>\n

I received a review copy of Phantom Islands<\/em> from the publisher. I bought the other two as ebooks.<\/p>\n

\n

\"TheThe Phantom Atlas: The Greatest Myths, Lies and Blunders on Maps<\/em><\/strong><\/a>
\nby Edward Brooke-Hitching
\nSimon & Schuster UK, Nov 2016 (U.K. edition)
\nChronicle<\/a>, April 2018 (U.S. edition)
\nAmazon<\/a> | Apple Books<\/a> | Bookshop<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\"PhantomPhantom Islands<\/em><\/strong><\/a>
\nby Dirk Liesemer
\ntranslated by Peter Lewis
\nHaus<\/a>, Oct 2019
\nAmazon<\/a> | Apple Books<\/a> | Bookshop<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\"TheThe Un-Discovered Islands<\/em><\/strong><\/a>
\nby Malachy Tallack
\nBirlinn<\/a>, Oct 2016 (U.K. edition)
\nPicador<\/a>, Nov 2017 (U.S. edition)
\nAmazon<\/a> | Apple Books<\/a> | Bookshop<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Three books look at islands that never were.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1788401,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"autoblue_enabled":true,"autoblue_custom_message":"","autoblue_shares":[],"autoblue_post_url":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,2,110],"tags":[30,281,111,1475],"class_list":["post-1788400","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-antique-maps","category-book-reviews","category-map-errors","tag-books","tag-hoaxes","tag-phantom-islands","tag-toujfeat"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/phantom-review.jpg","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":513340,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2017\/12\/a-book-roundup-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":1788400,"position":0},"title":"A Book Roundup","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"19 December 2017","format":"link","excerpt":"The Routledge Handbook Out last month, the expensive, 600-page\u00a0Routledge Handbook of Mapping and Cartography\u00a0(Routledge). Edited by Alexander J. Kent (who co-wrote\u00a0The Red Atlas) and Peter Vujakovic, the book \"draws on the wealth of new scholarship and practice in this emerging field, from the latest conceptual developments in mapping and advances\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Antique Maps"","block_context":{"text":"Antique Maps","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/antique-maps\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/social-life-of-maps-142x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/social-life-of-maps-142x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/social-life-of-maps-142x150.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/social-life-of-maps-142x150.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/social-life-of-maps-142x150.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/social-life-of-maps-142x150.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3460,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2016\/11\/2016-holiday-gift-guide-books\/","url_meta":{"origin":1788400,"position":1},"title":"2016 Holiday Gift Guide: Books","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"28 November 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Every year at about this time I post a gift guide that lists some of the noteworthy books about maps that have been published this year. If you have a map-obsessed person in your life and would like to give them something map-related\u2014or\u00a0you\u00a0are\u00a0a map-obsessed person\u2014this guide may give you some\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Gift Guides"","block_context":{"text":"Gift Guides","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/gift-guides\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Atlas of Improbable Places","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/atlas-improbable-places-1-108x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/atlas-improbable-places-1-108x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/atlas-improbable-places-1-108x150.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/atlas-improbable-places-1-108x150.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/atlas-improbable-places-1-108x150.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/atlas-improbable-places-1-108x150.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1787744,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2019\/09\/a-defilement-of-a-sacred-trust\/","url_meta":{"origin":1788400,"position":2},"title":"‘A Defilement of a Sacred Trust’","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"18 September 2019","format":"link","excerpt":"I hadn\u2019t planned on posting anything about Trump\u2019s Sharpie-adjusted hurricane forecast map: there was nothing useful for me to add to the discussion, and presumably you\u2019d all heard about it already and didn\u2019t need me to tell you. But it turns out something map-related can, and has, been said about\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Weather and Climate"","block_context":{"text":"Weather and Climate","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/weather-and-climate\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4860,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2017\/09\/the-territory-is-not-the-map\/","url_meta":{"origin":1788400,"position":3},"title":"The Territory Is Not the Map","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"27 September 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Critiques of fantasy maps have more to do with the shortcomings of fantasy worlds than the maps that depict them.","rel":"","context":"In "Book Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Book Reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/book-reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"From Jared Blando, How to Draw Fantasy Art and RPG Maps (Impact, 2015).","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/blando-example.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/blando-example.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/blando-example.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/blando-example.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/blando-example.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/blando-example.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1788711,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2020\/04\/star-maps-history-artistry-and-cartography\/","url_meta":{"origin":1788400,"position":4},"title":"Star Maps: History, Artistry, and Cartography","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"14 April 2020","format":"link","excerpt":"The March 2020 issue (PDF) of Calafia, the journal of the California Map Society, has as its theme the mapping of space. It also has something from me in it: my review of the third edition of Nick Kanas\u2019s Star Maps: History, Artistry, and Cartography. An excerpt: It\u2019s important to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Antique Maps"","block_context":{"text":"Antique Maps","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/antique-maps\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/IMG_8122.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/IMG_8122.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/IMG_8122.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/IMG_8122.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/IMG_8122.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/IMG_8122.jpeg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1785487,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2018\/04\/new-and-reissued-books-for-april-2018\/","url_meta":{"origin":1788400,"position":5},"title":"New and Reissued Books for April 2018","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"24 April 2018","format":"link","excerpt":"New Editions The third edition of Mark Monmonier's classic\u00a0How to Lie with Maps (University of Chicago Press, 1o April) \"includes significant updates throughout as well as new chapters on image maps, prohibitive cartography, and online maps. It also includes an expanded section of color images and an updated list of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Antique Maps"","block_context":{"text":"Antique Maps","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/antique-maps\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/how-to-lie-with-maps-3rd-99x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1788400","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1788400"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1788400\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1788616,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1788400\/revisions\/1788616"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1788401"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1788400"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1788400"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1788400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}