{"id":3854,"date":"2017-02-05T15:36:15","date_gmt":"2017-02-05T20:36:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/?p=3854"},"modified":"2017-02-05T15:36:15","modified_gmt":"2017-02-05T20:36:15","slug":"tactile-maps-modern-and-historical","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2017\/02\/tactile-maps-modern-and-historical\/","title":{"rendered":"Tactile Maps, Modern and Historical"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two items on maps for the blind<\/a> and visually impaired\u2014a subject I find terribly interesting:<\/p>\n

Greg Miller of National Geographic<\/em>\u2019s All Over the Map reports\u00a0on a new tactile atlas of\u00a0Switzerland<\/a>, which “is\u00a0printed with special ink that expands when heated to create tiny bumps and ridges on the page.”\u00a0I can’t find a direct link to said atlas, but Greg interviews Esri cartographer Anna Vetter, who led the project.<\/p>\n

Tactile maps<\/a> have been around for a long time:\u00a0Atlas Obscura<\/em> looks at tactile maps<\/a>\u2014and even a tactile globe<\/a>!\u2014dating back to the early 1800s. Many of these maps are in the archives<\/a> of the Perkins School for the Blind<\/a>. The Perkins School has a Flickr album of these maps<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two items on maps for the blind and visually impaired\u2014a subject I find terribly interesting: Greg Miller of National Geographic\u2019s All Over the Map reports\u00a0on a new tactile atlas of\u00a0Switzerland, which “is\u00a0printed with special ink… 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":[10,29],"tags":[289,258,290],"class_list":["post-3854","post","type-post","status-publish","format-link","hentry","category-antique-maps","category-cartography","tag-blind","tag-switzerland","tag-tactile","post_format-post-format-link"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":859,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2016\/02\/a-19th-century-tactile-map\/","url_meta":{"origin":3854,"position":0},"title":"A 19th-Century Tactile Map","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"14 February 2016","format":"link","excerpt":"L. R. Klemm's\u00a0Relief Practice Map: Roman Empire (above) is an example of the\u00a0printed tactile maps used to teach sighted and blind students alike during the nineteenth century. [via] Most of the maps for blind and visually impaired users I've encountered to date are of modern provenance.\u00a0Previously on The Map Room:\u00a0Joshua\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\/02\/tactile-map-1024x734.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/tactile-map-1024x734.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/tactile-map-1024x734.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/tactile-map-1024x734.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1809352,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2022\/10\/more-on-tactile-maps\/","url_meta":{"origin":3854,"position":1},"title":"More on Tactile Maps","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"13 October 2022","format":"link","excerpt":"The Bodleian Map Room Blog (no relation) has a nice look at some tactile maps for the visually impaired, with some interesting 20th-century examples of the form, such as 3D relief maps, a globe, and braille maps. Previously: Tactile Maps, Modern and Historical; A 19th-Century Tactile Map.","rel":"","context":"In "Unusual Maps"","block_context":{"text":"Unusual Maps","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/unusual-maps\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1844830,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2025\/08\/a-tool-to-generate-tactile-street-maps\/","url_meta":{"origin":3854,"position":2},"title":"A Tool to Generate Tactile Street Maps","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"11 August 2025","format":"link","excerpt":"Speaking of tools for generating maps for the blind and visually impaired (previously), there\u2019s also TMAP (Tactile Maps Automated Production) from Lighthouse\u2019s MAD Lab. TMAP\u00a0is a screen reader-friendly tool for creating tactile street maps. Raised lines and textures represent roads, pedestrian paths, and railways. Maps range from a few blocks\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Unusual Maps"","block_context":{"text":"Unusual Maps","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/unusual-maps\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1844808,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2025\/08\/3d-printed-tactile-maps\/","url_meta":{"origin":3854,"position":3},"title":"3D Printed Tactile Maps","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"3 August 2025","format":"link","excerpt":"Touch Mapper is an open source project (GitHub) for generating 3D printed tactile maps for the visually impaired. The maps use OpenStreetMap data and produce a file that can be printed on almost any 3D printer, or ordered for a fee. The project started nearly a decade ago but I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Unusual Maps"","block_context":{"text":"Unusual Maps","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/unusual-maps\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1826415,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2024\/02\/middle-earth-in-braille\/","url_meta":{"origin":3854,"position":4},"title":"Middle-earth in Braille","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"1 February 2024","format":"link","excerpt":"Among the tactile and braille maps sold by Adaptations, the store run by San Francisco-based LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, is this bundle of braille\/tactile maps of Middle-earth. \u201cThe maps have raised lines, textures, and braille. There are 7 maps of Middle Earth, each focusing on different features\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Maps and Literature"","block_context":{"text":"Maps and Literature","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/maps-and-literature\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A photograph of a braille\/tactile map of Middle-earth","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/middle-earth-braille2-150x113.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2275,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2016\/06\/the-princeton-braillists\/","url_meta":{"origin":3854,"position":5},"title":"The Princeton Braillists","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"22 June 2016","format":"link","excerpt":"The Princeton Braillists publish tactile maps and atlases for a blind readership. Several books of maps are available: world and regional atlases,\u00a0maps of U.S. states, and others. Maps and drawings are created by hand in an aluminum foil sheet. The metal is embossed with a variety of tools to produce\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"blind\"","block_context":{"text":"blind","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/tag\/blind\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"princeton-braillists","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/princeton-braillists-1024x477.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/princeton-braillists-1024x477.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/princeton-braillists-1024x477.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/princeton-braillists-1024x477.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3854","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=3854"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3854\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3855,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3854\/revisions\/3855"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}