{"id":1829634,"date":"2024-04-05T13:46:58","date_gmt":"2024-04-05T17:46:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/?p=1829634"},"modified":"2024-04-05T13:46:58","modified_gmt":"2024-04-05T17:46:58","slug":"paper-maps-new-business-lost-loves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2024\/04\/paper-maps-new-business-lost-loves\/","title":{"rendered":"Paper Maps: New Business, Lost Loves"},"content":{"rendered":"

GIS analyst and cartographer Andrew Middleton moved across the country to become the new owner<\/a> of the Map Center<\/a>, a Rhode Island map store, after the previous owner announced that he was looking for someone to give the store away to<\/a>. In an interview with GeoHipster\u2019s Randal Hale<\/a>, Andrew outlines what he sees as the state of the market for paper maps: the antique map business is pretty healthy; what he\u2019s interested in is contemporary cartography.<\/p>\n

The bigger and more mysterious question for me is: Can I build a store off of something that focuses on contemporary cartography and do it in a physical location? Some people more talented than I have been able to pull it off selling their own work online. Only a couple of people in the U.S. are doing it in a physical space with overhead. With rent. I like knowing that there are places like the Map Center still around and I want to be a part of keeping Rhode Island quirky and worth exploring. But it\u2019s not 1995 any more. I sell gas station 8-folds and prints of USGS topo maps and guide books and trail maps but it\u2019s hard to sell information that someone on the internet is giving away for free. The value add of a paper map is providing that information in a portable, digestible and familiar way that includes context and that does have value. Lots of folks buy paper maps for outdoor activities, trip planning and conceptualizing space in large areas or putting on their walls to remind them off a place they love or a place they want to explore.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

He\u2019s looking for maps to sell: see the Map Center\u2019s call for cartographers<\/a>. As for the kind of customer<\/em> Andrew is looking for, it would probably look a lot like Mary Ann Sternberg, who in a piece for Next Avenue<\/em><\/a> writes about her history with and love of paper maps.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

GIS analyst and cartographer Andrew Middleton moved across the country to become the new owner of the Map Center, a Rhode Island map store, after the previous owner announced that he was looking for someone… More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"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":[121],"tags":[307,845],"class_list":["post-1829634","post","type-post","status-publish","format-link","hentry","category-industry","tag-map-stores","tag-paper-maps","post_format-post-format-link"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1836143,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2025\/01\/tpr-on-the-map-center\/","url_meta":{"origin":1829634,"position":0},"title":"TPR on the Map Center","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"23 January 2025","format":"link","excerpt":"The Public\u2019s Radio talks with Andrew Middleton, who you will remember took over the Map Center in Pawtucket, RI in 2023. The focus of the piece is on how Andrew came to own the store and why he doesn\u2019t see Google and Apple as competitors. \u201cI see them as selling\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Industry"","block_context":{"text":"Industry","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/industry\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1844910,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2025\/08\/a-video-about-the-map-center\/","url_meta":{"origin":1829634,"position":1},"title":"A Video About the Map Center","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"29 August 2025","format":"link","excerpt":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Dj9uKpk3Idk A short video about the Map Center, the Rhode Island-based map store that, you will recall, Andrew Middleton took over two years ago. The video came about, Andrew says, when a customer came back and insisted on filming it. (\u201cIs this the highest form of flattery? Most people just\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Industry"","block_context":{"text":"Industry","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/industry\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/Dj9uKpk3Idk\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1815360,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2023\/06\/the-lost-art-of-map-reading\/","url_meta":{"origin":1829634,"position":2},"title":"The Lost Art of Map Reading","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"12 June 2023","format":"link","excerpt":"\u201cThe physical map has the same appeal, probably, as the vinyl record. It\u2019s tactile, it\u2019s there, it\u2019s present\u2014it\u2019s not ephemeral.\u201d A nice piece from CBC News on the so-called lost art of map reading and paper maps, touching many of the usual points, featuring (among others) the co-owners of my\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Industry"","block_context":{"text":"Industry","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/industry\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1838745,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2025\/03\/world-of-maps-owners-retiring-seeking-new-owners\/","url_meta":{"origin":1829634,"position":3},"title":"World of Maps Owners Retiring, Seeking New Owners","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"31 March 2025","format":"link","excerpt":"World of Maps on 27 Nov 2017. Ottawa map and book store World of Maps is for sale, per their Facebook page: \u201cAfter 30 years of running this interesting and profitable map & book business Petra and Brad want to sell and retire. There are plenty of adventures and trips\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Industry"","block_context":{"text":"Industry","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/industry\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/IMG_5710.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/IMG_5710.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/IMG_5710.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/IMG_5710.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/IMG_5710.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/IMG_5710.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3902,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2017\/02\/milwaukees-map-store-closing\/","url_meta":{"origin":1829634,"position":4},"title":"Milwaukee’s Map Store Closing","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"9 February 2017","format":"link","excerpt":"The Map Store, a Milwaukee institution that has been in business since 1937, will be going out of business on April 1st. The Map Store's owner cited \"the combination of falling revenue and his age\" (he's 78) as reasons to close shop.\u00a0[Cartophilia] Always sad to see a map store close,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Industry"","block_context":{"text":"Industry","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/industry\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/milwaukee-map-store-1024x512.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/milwaukee-map-store-1024x512.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/milwaukee-map-store-1024x512.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/milwaukee-map-store-1024x512.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":470899,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2017\/12\/andrew-douglas-cliffords-maps-of-new-zealand\/","url_meta":{"origin":1829634,"position":5},"title":"Andrew Douglas-Clifford’s Maps of New Zealand","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"18 December 2017","format":"link","excerpt":"New Zealand cartographer Andrew Douglas-Clifford\u00a0(\"The Map Kiwi\") recently\u00a0got profiled by\u00a0The Press, a Christchurch-based newspaper. I've been aware of his work for a while; it includes\u00a0some interesting items, like\u00a0a map of state highways in the form of a metro map, a series of circle-shaped city maps (so-called \"map dots\"), and, most\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Cartography"","block_context":{"text":"Cartography","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/cartography\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/adc-state-highways-118x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/adc-state-highways-118x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/adc-state-highways-118x150.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/adc-state-highways-118x150.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1829634","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=1829634"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1829634\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1829639,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1829634\/revisions\/1829639"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1829634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1829634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1829634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}