The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1891-11-22

It is seventy years since the Arst edition Of
&ielv's Hand Aaas (Perthes. 0o<ha) was Is
sued. The latest edition. which has been pro-
pairing for nearly three years. II now COM
pleted. While Il II BY no means 20 expen.
sive as some other and moro bully library
aliases. there Is no doubt that It has long been
regarded BY geographers a. tho leading work
Of the kind. It is no disparaSement Of other
notable aliases to say that gtieier has been
placed BY common consent at the head Of the
list: and that Il still deserves this honor no
one who carefully examines tho latest edi-
ton Is likely to deny. Such product could be
the work only Of the masters Of geographical
science and photographic art.
The number Of map sheets has not been in
creased in the last edition. but there are
greater number Of inset maps on larger scales
showing areas Of special interest There are
95 maps and $50 insets. About quarter Of
the atlas is entirely new. and thousands Of
changes and additions appear in the sheets
that have merely been revised. We find. for
instance. on single sheet Of the six-sheet map
of the United States several hundred changes.
In the northwestern part Of our country
scores Of new towns have been introduced. new
railroad lines appear. some mountain areas
have been entirely redrawn. and many other
changes have been made Our Geological Sur
vey has been at work In a part Of tho region
shown on the sheet we have mentioned.
pioneer activity is founding new towns and
developing the country. and Stieler Is the
faithful chronicler Of 1t all.
Three features have long distinguished this
atlas from nearly every other. Ono Is that
every sheet Is dated The reader knows when
he consults Stieler Just how recent is the in
formation on the map before him. Another
feature is an innovation which was originated
In this work many years ago and has been
copied by very few other publishers OF aliases.
Whenever data ore obtained sffording Inn
portsnt material for the revision of any sheet,
new edition OF that sheet Is issued at. once
In this way several revisions Of many sheets
appear In the intervals between the regular
new editions Of the atlas as q whole. Not .
few students Of the atlas prefer to keep 1t I'M
bound and insert the latest revision Of each
sheet as 1t appears. The atlas Is printed from
copper plates which are we'll adapted both for
the revisions to which they are subjected and
for the clear. delicate. artistic workm anship
for which these maps are noted.
The third distinctive feature Of Stieler 10 the
fact that every mark and line has meaning.
Many aliases use hachures TO indicate noun
tain ranges. In the poorest OF them these
works simply show that mountains exist The
photographer never thinks OF such thing as
indicating steepness fthe slope or the network
OF valleys: OF producing. in short. with hnch-
ures the effect OF q Topographic model This
is accomplished on the 6tieler sheets in a
larger degree than In any other atlas It has
been said that the Stieler Alpine sheets SO
faithfully depict every Topographic feature OF
importance. exhibit with such clearnsss and
accuracy every mountain. range. valley. and
stream. that tho tourist needs no other guide.
The sheets OF this atlas, representing regions
In which the most strongly marked topo-
graphic contrasts OCCUR. show at their best
the possibilities ofthe cartogrspher's art.
convenient popularity Of this atlas is that
the sheets OF some Of the continents and coun-
tries can be mounted ss ono sheet to form
wall map. This is the case with the siI-sheer
map OF the United States on q scale OF about
5S miles to the inch. with the sig sheet map
OF Africa on o scale OF 155 miles to the incn.
and including many inset maps on q scale OF
about 20 miles to the inch. The six-sheet
map OF South America is regarded By experts
as the best map yet produced Of that part OF
the Western world. The most notable feature
however. In the mapping Of the Western world
Is the map OF the newer parts OF Canada Tho
surveyors Of the Dominion have for some years
been collecting great deal OF information.
which has been most skilfully employed BY
Mr.. Habenicht, ono Of the best known OF tho
Gotha geographers.
The inset maps are Q great feature Of the
work. Areas OF special Importance. such as
cities and their environs. tho great hArbors.
the leading Pacific island groups. &C.. arc pre-
with much delicacy and beauty OF detnsAhon.
ns fns sroTRRny new isstqss 81 the stiss Is
before enjoyed this great eonysniencs. The
Present edition embraees an index containing
1900 names OF pieces. and thps any nIms
In Q dictionary.