Omaha daily bee., 1906-09-30
FINE MAPS MADE IN GERMANY
Ancient Printery in Obscure Town
Distances the Rest of the
World.

Germany has the largest and most fam
Gus map-making establishment in the
world. II was founded by a poor map
maker named Perthes in the little town
of Gotha more than 12O years ago.
The equipment of the establishment now
is surprising. The geogra phical library
of this house contains over 1900 volumes
1t is about twice as large as any similar
library in America, and every book is so
fully indexed by the card system that all
the best information about every noun
tain river, cape, or other geographical
feature that has been described may be
obtained in a few minutes.
This establishment has also a collection
of over 10000 maps. 1t has all the route
surveys of explorers and all the sheets
of topographic and other surveys which
the nations have procured.
This Gotha house is mentioned here
merely because it heads the list of the
great map houses. There are a number
of others, especially in Germany. France,
Scotland, Austria, and Holland, which ap-
proximate, if they have not entirely at
tanned, the high standard of the Gotha
house.
If we should inspect any of these map
plants and see the corps of geogra pliers
compiling data for new maps and the
busy rooms where the steel and copper
engravers, the photographers. the litho-
graphers, the hand coorists, the book
binders, and others perform their daily
tasks should be impressed with the
fact that the production of first-class
maps requires a large variety of scientific
talent and highly trained technical skill.
The wax process of map production used
in nearly all American map houses is not
employed in any of the leading European
establishments. They do not regard It as
a medium through which they can attain
the best results.
We need not infer that these map maxi
ers ever produce an absolutely perfect
map. A cartographic product without a
blemish was never made. The reason is
that single misspeling or the slight
misdirection of line is a bunder One
sheet may contain the essence of many
books and many maps, and the best that
human nature can do is to take every
possible precaution, within the limits of
its frailty to tell the truth.
There are famous geographers who
study maps more than they do books DR..
Wagner. the professor of geography in
the University of Goettingen. has never
been a great traveller. but he is celebrated
for his knowledge of regional geography.
while ago he wrote a very large book
on the geography of the earth, in which
he said that he had derived the greater
part of the material for the book from
his study of maps. He was able to do
this because I'm the past half century car
tographers have developed to a high de-
gree Of perfection the art of presenting a
clear and vivid picture Of all the geograph-
ical conditions of the regions concerned.
A first rate map Is a short road to geo
graphical knowledge. Suppose we wish to
learn something OF the history OF the ex-
ploration Of Africa. which hundreds of
explorers have gridlroned with their
routes. How many scores of volumes we
should have to examine II we were TO seek
this information In books!
But there is a map of Africa in eight
large sheets which gives the route of all
the explorers who had contributed to our
knowledge OF Africa up to the time the
map was prepared We see all the dis
eoveries they made. and the eolors show
the nature OF the various regions through
which they passed. This map gives a
bird's-eye view of the whole great subject
of African explorat tion.
But many maps are very poor. ana the
public would not buy them II they knew
how Inaccurate and misleading they are
They are usually the output of craftsmen
who work without geographical supervi-
sion. There will be less demand for such
misinforming products when more school
children are taught to distinguish between
a good and a poor map.-New York Times
c.. 49, - - -