Maps of All Kinds

When Tom and I first married, we thought we should invest in something that would appreciate in value.  I’m not sure how we decided on antique maps, but our first real purchase during the first month or two of marriage was an antique map purchased at Lorson’s Books in Fullerton.  We had it framed and it graced our walls for a few years.  I think that each time we looked at it, we admired it a little more.

It’s pictured above, but here is a detailed look at it.  You will notice that it is a French celestial map with various planets shown. We are not sure how old this map is.  As I recall, we paid $100 for it forty-one years ago.

As newlyweds, we thought that with each year, we would buy another antique map.  We did, in fact, buy one more.  After that, we either lost our enthusiasm or we couldn’t rationalize more map purchases when we had other expenses to consider.

I have always liked our second map so much.  Tom found an identical one online that’s for sale from a map shop in Pennsylvania for $150.  (I think we paid no more than $50 for ours many years ago.)  The cartographer was William Dalton and the year the map was created was 1802.

In the more detailed version below, there are many fascinating things to notice.  On the West Coast, Sir Francis Drake’s Harbor indicates where Drake landed in 1579 to claim land for England.  With a little research, I discovered that he landed near Point Reyes, which is just north of San Francisco, and, to this day, there is a small bay named Drakes Bay there.

It’s interesting to see which cities have been marked with red dots.  The one I was most intrigued by is Iowa Town located near the center of the map.  Again, after some research, the town appears to be Keokuk, Iowa.  Keokuk has around 12,000 inhabitants now.  In its heyday, it was a booming trade town, probably because it was located where the Mississippi River and the Des Moines River converge.  The only piece of interesting trivia about Keokuk (accent on the first syllable) is that Mark Twain’s brother lived there for a few years.

Maps have always been our thing.  I can remember having my picture taken for the local newspaper for helping make a large, 3-D topographical map  of Wisconsin  when I was in the fourth grade.  I also loved taking a geography class in high school and making maps for it.  Tom, too, has always had an affinity for maps.  Auto Club and Google maps are some of his favorites.

Rand McNally, which has been in operation for 165 years, has dubbed 2021  “The Year of the Roadtrip.”  In one of its recent press releases, Rand McNally stated that the demand for their Road Atlas  increased substantially in 2020 and has continued into 2021.   One of its versions has consistently placed on a transportation bestseller book list for many weeks.

Besides using map apps, which we do use regularly, we will always take a Rand McNally Road Atlas with us on a road trip.  When I noticed online that a new version (the 98th) had just been published, I decided we needed to buy it because we are, after all, cartophiles – lovers of maps.

Hope you have a chance this summer to take a road trip.  Happy, safe travels to all of you!