The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1874-07-23
History Of Maps.
BY RUFUS BLANCHARD.

philosopher. Whether he ever had a
sheepskin diploma or not, don't matter.
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 sec
up a school, and probably taught philoso-
ply. To him is ascribed the honor of
discovering the obliquity of the Zodiac.
He was famous traveller, cleaning from
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 q 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 Ph9nicians making use of maps as u
guide to their commercial pursuits, in
which they well-nigh monopolized the
trade of India-that inexhaustible source
of supply. Sesostris, King of Egypt, also
caused his dominions to be mapped; and
Ptolemy Claudius, Of Alexandria, issued
map of the world, and twenty-six other
maps, on which to illustrate the sciences
of which he was master. Agathod@mon
was his craftsman. Says Varro, the
Romans issued maps of their conquered
countries; and, in the days of Cesar,
Peutenger drew map of the world, So
called. 1t was twenty-one feet long, and
only one foot wide. Its object appears
to have been to map the military routes
to Roman colonies; to which purpose
Asia were distorted out of proportion
maps of our present day distort the States
tAlOuSA "AANA VACy pOooS w AAsSAS VASAA
own route appear the most direct.
The Arabian scholars made use of the
maps of Ptolemy, 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 Of
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 IN excess of color
serves to conceal imperfections 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 stone being then unknown; but
the commercial age fastened along, when
common people began to discard coarse
blouse shirts for immaculate linen,
washed and starched with glossiness.
Alois Schneider was one of these dev-
otees to clearly habitudes, and en-
ploved a washwOman. He was also sys-
tematic in the method of doing business,
and invoiced his list of soiled linen as he
gave it out.
On one occasion he happened to do this
on the smooth surface of apolished 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 1875, 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.
The invention of transferring impress
sions from an engraving to polished
stone was not put in practice till about
1845 By this process as many small maps
as the sheet will hold can be printed at q
single impression. Steam-printing of
maps is a very recent inventi0n-scarce
decade old Small maps are rapidly
printed by this process for circular maps,
and any maps wanted in large numbers,
if 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
present century, and it is only a just
tribute to them to say that their maps
will be preserved in the archives OF
their respective countries as the most
faithful representations of their ad-
vancement in arts of civilization; albeit
the field in the United States is too large
| for one man, or for q hundred, where
tOWuS 0IC SpIIuSAuS AAIO VAASCOAINO WIN
q rapidity hitherto unparalleled in the
history Of the world. 10 keep pace with
all these, and connect them with lines of
railroad as fast as the Cornings, and
Vanderbilts, and Scots, and Th0msons,
and q thousand others of like ambition
build them is the work of the FESTIVE
map-publisher, who never sleeps without
one eye open, and works in his harness
till he dies. Men may engage in almost
any other business and retire from it.
but the man who has spent the best Of
his life in mapping the most progressive
country on earth can hardly he lured
from the attractions which lead him
along with the current of commerce and
the destiny of his country.
The Doom Of England.
Now, let us face boldly and state In
the plainest language what the industria
decadence Of our country, whether i