The Western advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1872-1874, 1874-08-01
History OF Maps.
nv R11Fus BLANCHARD.


q. ''r
=: By RUFUS BLANCHARD. -.
AWAY back in the 42d Olympiad, when
Kings ran foot-races with "newsboys,"
almost 600 years before the Christian
era-there dWelt at Miletus, Thales. one
of the Seven Wise Men of Greece. It is
enoughto say of him that he was Grecisn:
philosopher Whether he ever had
sheepskin diploma or not, don't mater
History gives him the credit Of introduce
ing to the world the familiar theory OF
the signs of the Zodiac, and of being the
first one to calculate eclipses. This in
formation was given to the world shortly
after his return from Egypt, that famous
old seat OF. learning in those days. Like
other wise men of his age he gloried in
imparting instruction 10 his peers, and
particularly to the youth Of his country.
Anaximander was one of his fortunate
pupils, and not only made himself mas
ter of the science of his tutor, but car
ried his researches even beyond that dis
tinguished old sage. Without the assist
ance of any corner.lOt endowment or
other auxiliary that we know OF, he SET
up school, and probably taught philoso..
ply. To him is ascribed the honor OF
discovering the obliquity of the Zodiac
every part of the then known world
materials for the development of science;
and, the better to disseminate the infor-:
nation derived from his studies and
travels, he published map Of the world
as it was then known. To him, there
fore, belongs the honor of being the first
inventor of maps.
Two hundred years later, Socrates, by
way of reproof to Alcibiades for his pride,
told him to look on the map for his
estates; which is good testimony that the
Grecians made use of them.
Later along down the highways Of
human invention and progress we find
the PhGnicians making use of maps as
guide to their commercial pursuits, in
which they wcll-ni gh monopolized the
trade of India-that incXhaustible source
of supply. Sesostris, King of Egypt, also
caused his dominions to be mapped; and
Ptolcmy Claudius, Of Alexandria, issued
a map Of the world, and twenty-s six other
maps, on which to illustrate the sciences
of which he was master. Agathod9mon
was his craftsman. Says Varro, the
Romans issued maps of their conquered
countries; and, in the days of Caesar,
Pcutengcr drew a map of the world, So
called. 1t was twenty-one feet long, and
to have been to map the military routes
to Roman colonies; to which purpose
Europe, Northern Africa, and Western
Asia were distorted out of proportion
worse than some of the circular railroad
maps Of our present day distort the States
through which they pass, to make their
own route appear the most direct.
The Arabian scholars made use of the
maps Of Ptolcmy, and perhaps issued
others. But hiatus in map-literature of
several centuries succeeds the decline
and fall of the colossal power of Rome,
in which little but the germ-cells of art
and science were preserved from de-
struction. These began to show them
selves in Venice, Germany, England,
France and Spain in the fifteenth CEN
fury; and maps, with other literature,
made their temperance from these ia
vored places. Of the early specimens of
English maps the writer has many in his
possession, some of which are venerable
with the dust of two centuries. One ct
these is an atlas of the world. The en-
craving is respectable and the coloring
delicate; in which respect it is more
artistic than some of the maps of the
present day, in which an excess of color
serves to conceal imperfcctions in en-
craving. Thanks are due to Zebina
Eastman, who procured these maps for
me during his eight years Consulship in
Bristol These early English maps were
engraved on copper-the use of litho-
graphic .tone being then unknown; but
the commercial age fastened along, when
common people began to discard coarse
blousc-shirts for immaculate linen,
washed and starched with glossiness
Alois Senfelder was one of these dew
otces to clearly habitudes, and en-
ploycu a washwoman. He was also sys-
tematic in the method of doing business,
and invoiced his list of soiled linen as he
gave j. out.
On one occasion he happened to do this
on the smooth surface of a polished stone
in his possession. The facility with
which it took the impression suggested to
him the idea that printing could be done
on it. He tried his new plan and success
was the result. This invention, achieved
in 1895, was Immediately put in practice.
Rome and London introduced the new
art in 1907, Paris in 1914; and the United
States in 1922. The result has been
cheap maps for the million-a desidera-
tum ausplcious for the necessities of the
new States and growing cities of the
West.
Inc invention OF transferring impress
sions from an engraving to a polished
stone was not put in practice till about
l945. By this process as many small maps
as the sheet will hold can be printed at a
single impression. Steamprinting of
maps is very recent invention-scarcc
decade old Small maps are rapidly
printed by this process forcircular maps,
and any maps wanted in large numbers,
ii not too large in size; but maps, par
excellence, used in offices, and good
pocket-maps, are printed on hand presses
at an expense at least ten times greater
than ordinary type-printing. The colors
are put on by hand with brushes, and not
printed, as some suppose. The drawing
OF maps is a study which has tested the
ingenuity of several generations.
How to make spherical surface on a
superficial one-that is the problem.
On this subject it is proper to say that
the map-drawers of to-day are working
on the plans our fathers gave us, such as
Mayer, Calico and Mercator. Arrowmith
Of England and the Coltons of the
United States have been the foremost
map-men in English literature of the