{"id":978,"date":"2016-02-22T10:39:42","date_gmt":"2016-02-22T15:39:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/?p=978"},"modified":"2016-02-22T10:53:35","modified_gmt":"2016-02-22T15:53:35","slug":"the-social-life-of-maps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2016\/02\/the-social-life-of-maps\/","title":{"rendered":"The Social Life of Maps"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Philadelphia Inquirer<\/em>\u2019s Elizabeth Mosier reports<\/a>\u00a0on a talk last Saturday by University of Delaware English professor Martin Br\u00fcckner<\/a>. “Using images from the exhibit he curated at Winterthur Museum (viewable online at\u00a0http:\/\/commondestinations.winterthur.org<\/a>), Br\u00fcckner traced maps from production to purchase to public display and personal use, as they became fashionable objects in the period before and after the Revolutionary War,” Mosier writes.<\/p>\n

In the 18th century, maps were everywhere: advertised with luxury goods in catalogs and with necessities in the newspaper, displayed in taverns and town halls and high-traffic areas in private homes, printed on parlor screens and ceramics and neckties\u2014\u201ccartifacts\u201d serving no cartographic purpose. If political conflict built the market for maps, the cartouche\u2014or decorative map title\u2014refined it, adding beauty to the criteria for determining a map’s value. The brisk business in maps for navigating\u00a0and<\/i>\u00a0decorating redefined what constituted their usefulness, in material and social terms. Owning a map meant economic status, educational achievement, and national identity; showing a map showed you belonged.<\/p>\n

This is the “performative function” of maps, to create reality by plotting it.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"geographic-revolution\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Br\u00fcckner is the author or editor of several books<\/a> on the subject of the social history of maps in early America, including The Geographic Revolution in Early America: Early Maps, Literacy, and National Identity<\/a><\/em> (UNC Press<\/a>, 2006). I should really check his work (and Susan Schulten’s<\/a>) out; my own graduate work was going to be on the social function of music, so the social function of\u00a0maps\u00a0is\u00a0relevant to my interests\u00a0for more than one\u00a0reason.\u00a0[via<\/a>]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Philadelphia Inquirer\u2019s Elizabeth Mosier reports\u00a0on a talk last Saturday by University of Delaware English professor Martin Br\u00fcckner. “Using images from the exhibit he curated at Winterthur Museum (viewable online at\u00a0http:\/\/commondestinations.winterthur.org), Br\u00fcckner traced maps from… 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":[35],"tags":[19,62],"class_list":["post-978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-link","hentry","category-history","tag-1700s","tag-lectures","post_format-post-format-link"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":513340,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2017\/12\/a-book-roundup-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":978,"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":1789658,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2020\/11\/lord-of-maps-more-real-world-fantasy-maps\/","url_meta":{"origin":978,"position":1},"title":"Lord of Maps: More Real-World Fantasy Maps","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"22 November 2020","format":"link","excerpt":"Here\u2019s another map artist who draws maps of real-world places in the style of fantasy maps: Isaac of Lord of Maps has around 30 maps\u2014mostly of U.S. states, but also a few countries and one city\u2014available for sale as prints of various sizes. Style-wise they\u2019re dead ringers for Christopher Tolkien\u2019s\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art"","block_context":{"text":"Art","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/art\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/lord-of-maps-ky-1024x499.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/lord-of-maps-ky-1024x499.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/lord-of-maps-ky-1024x499.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/lord-of-maps-ky-1024x499.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1787873,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2019\/10\/google-maps-data-and-the-google-maps-platform\/","url_meta":{"origin":978,"position":2},"title":"Google Maps Data and the Google Maps Platform","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"3 October 2019","format":"link","excerpt":"Google Maps product director Ethan Russell has a post about their map data: how (and how often) it\u2019s updated, how to submit updates, how it\u2019s managed and checked for accuracy, that sort of thing. It\u2019s one of a series of posts on the Google Maps Platform, which is (now) their\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Web Mapping"","block_context":{"text":"Web Mapping","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/web-mapping\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/google-maps-ios-icon-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1791474,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2021\/07\/google-maps-android-my-maps-discontinued-transit-crowdedness-feature-expanded\/","url_meta":{"origin":978,"position":3},"title":"Google Maps: Android My Maps Discontinued, Transit Crowdedness Feature Expanded","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"26 July 2021","format":"link","excerpt":"The Google My Maps Android app is being closed down in October. You may remember that My Maps is a feature allowing users to create custom maps on the Google Maps platform relatively easily. To be honest I wasn\u2019t aware that it had its own Android app; once that\u2019s closed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mobile"","block_context":{"text":"Mobile","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/mobile\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1788540,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2020\/03\/some-more-coronavirus-maps\/","url_meta":{"origin":978,"position":4},"title":"Some More Coronavirus Maps","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"16 March 2020","format":"link","excerpt":"The Washington Post maps COVID-19 cases by U.S. state and country (above). Animated maps from HealthMap and NBC New York trace the spread of the coronavirus over time. [Maps Mania] Maps Mania also has a list of official government coronavirus maps. Via Geography Realm, a collection of \u201cresponsible\u201d live visualizations,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Health"","block_context":{"text":"Health","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/health\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wapost-covid-world-1024x597.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wapost-covid-world-1024x597.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wapost-covid-world-1024x597.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wapost-covid-world-1024x597.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1784840,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2018\/01\/dan-bells-tolkien-style-maps-of-the-lake-district\/","url_meta":{"origin":978,"position":5},"title":"Dan Bell’s ‘Tolkien-Style’ Maps of the Lake District","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"24 January 2018","format":"link","excerpt":"Maps of real places done up in the style of fantasy maps are a thing, as those who have been following along will know by now. I'm planning a dedicated page on the subject in the Fantasy Maps section. That page will have to include Dan Bell's maps of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art"","block_context":{"text":"Art","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/art\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/dan-bell-middle-earth-lake-district-1024x637.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/dan-bell-middle-earth-lake-district-1024x637.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/dan-bell-middle-earth-lake-district-1024x637.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/dan-bell-middle-earth-lake-district-1024x637.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/978","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=978"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/978\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":984,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/978\/revisions\/984"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=978"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=978"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=978"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}