{"id":1788711,"date":"2020-04-14T11:38:47","date_gmt":"2020-04-14T15:38:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/?p=1788711"},"modified":"2020-09-25T10:54:55","modified_gmt":"2020-09-25T14:54:55","slug":"star-maps-history-artistry-and-cartography","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2020\/04\/star-maps-history-artistry-and-cartography\/","title":{"rendered":"Star Maps: History, Artistry, and Cartography"},"content":{"rendered":"

The March 2020 issue<\/a> (PDF) of Calafia<\/em><\/a>, the journal of the California Map Society<\/a>, 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<\/em><\/strong>. An excerpt:<\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to remember a book\u2019s target audience\u2014its imagined ideal reader. In the case of Star Maps<\/em> this is Kanas\u2019s younger self, who came to map collecting via his lifelong interest in amateur astronomy. \u201cI was frustrated that there was not a single book on celestial cartography that could inform me about the various aspects of my collecting,\u201d he writes in the preface to the first edition. \u201cWhat I needed was a book that not only was a primer for the collector but also had sufficient reference detail to allow me to identify and understand my maps. Nothing like this appeared, so I decided to write such a book some day\u201d (p. xxi). In other words, for a compendium this is a surprisingly personal<\/em> book, one that reflects his own journey into the subject and, presumably, his interests as a collector.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I\u2019ll post the full review on The Map Room<\/strong> once I\u2019ve checked my draft against the published copy. In the meantime, check out the issue of Calafia<\/em><\/a> (PDF) in which it appears. (Update, 24 Jun 2020<\/em>: Here it is<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"Star Maps: History, Artistry, and Cartography
\n<\/em><\/strong>3rd edition
\nby Nick Kanas
\nSpringer Praxis<\/a>, Sept 2019
\nAmazon<\/a> (Canada<\/a>, UK<\/a>) | Apple Books<\/a> | Bookshop<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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… More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1788671,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"link","meta":{"autoblue_enabled":true,"autoblue_custom_message":"","autoblue_shares":[],"autoblue_post_url":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,3,2,211,960],"tags":[30,426,474,1475],"class_list":["post-1788711","post","type-post","status-publish","format-link","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-antique-maps","category-astronomy","category-book-reviews","category-map-collecting","category-my-stuff","tag-books","tag-celestial-maps","tag-map-societies","tag-toujfeat","post_format-post-format-link"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/IMG_8122.jpeg","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1516,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2016\/04\/de-wits-planisphaerium-coeleste\/","url_meta":{"origin":1788711,"position":0},"title":"De Wit’s Planisph\u00e6rium C\u0153leste","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"12 April 2016","format":"link","excerpt":"As part of its regular \"Map Monday\" feature, Atlas Obscura looks closely at Frederick de Wit's\u00a0Planisph\u00e6rium c\u0153leste (1670), above. Like other celestial maps of the period, it's as though the monsters\u00a0on sea charts have been placed in the skies\u2014especially true for constellations like Cetus, as the article shows. This reminds\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Antique Maps"","block_context":{"text":"Antique Maps","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/antique-maps\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Frederick de Wit, Planisph\u00e6rium c\u0153leste, 1670.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/planisphaeri-coeleste-1024x700.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/planisphaeri-coeleste-1024x700.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/planisphaeri-coeleste-1024x700.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/planisphaeri-coeleste-1024x700.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1788091,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2019\/11\/2019-holiday-gift-guide\/","url_meta":{"origin":1788711,"position":1},"title":"2019 Holiday Gift Guide","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"27 November 2019","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 you are a map-obsessed person and would\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Gift Guides"","block_context":{"text":"Gift Guides","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/gift-guides\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/charles-booth-london-poverty-maps-oblique-99x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/charles-booth-london-poverty-maps-oblique-99x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/charles-booth-london-poverty-maps-oblique-99x150.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/charles-booth-london-poverty-maps-oblique-99x150.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1787764,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2019\/09\/p-j-mode-interviewed\/","url_meta":{"origin":1788711,"position":2},"title":"P. J. Mode Interviewed","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"20 September 2019","format":"link","excerpt":"JSTOR Daily interviews P. J. Mode, the map collector (and donor) behind Cornell University Library\u2019s P. J. Mode Collection of Persuasive Cartography. Mode began collecting maps in 1980, and proceeded in the usual manner until stumbling across what would become his niche. When I was looking at those maps in\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\/2019\/09\/pjmode-plumb-pudding-gillray-1024x762.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/pjmode-plumb-pudding-gillray-1024x762.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/pjmode-plumb-pudding-gillray-1024x762.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/pjmode-plumb-pudding-gillray-1024x762.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":513340,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2017\/12\/a-book-roundup-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":1788711,"position":3},"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":1787849,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2019\/10\/cartography-the-ideal-and-its-history\/","url_meta":{"origin":1788711,"position":4},"title":"Cartography: The Ideal and Its History","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"1 October 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Matthew H. Edney\u2019s Cartography: The Ideal and Its History (University of Chicago Press, April) is a full-throated jeremiad against the concept of cartography itself\u2014the ideal of cartography, which after 237 densely argued pages Edney says \u201cis quite simply indefensible.\u201d Or as the subtitle to the first chapter states: \u201cThere is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Book Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Book Reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/book-reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Cartography (cover)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/edney-cartography-ideal-history-210x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2522,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2016\/08\/map-exhibition-in-toronto-the-art-of-cartography\/","url_meta":{"origin":1788711,"position":5},"title":"Map Exhibition in Toronto: The Art of Cartography","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"3 August 2016","format":"link","excerpt":"The Art of Cartography, opening 13 August at the Toronto Reference Library and running until 16 October, is\u00a0\"a new exhibit showcasing the unexpected beauty of maps and atlases from the 16th to the 19th century. The exhibit features world maps, atlases, manuscript maps, sea charts, celestial maps, city plans and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Antique Maps"","block_context":{"text":"Antique Maps","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/antique-maps\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1788711","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=1788711"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1788711\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1789372,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1788711\/revisions\/1789372"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1788671"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1788711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1788711"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1788711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}