It should come as no surprise that often times there are hidden secrets in great works of art, if you know where to look. For instance, the great artist Caravaggio painted “David with the head of Goliath”, featuring his own head in place of Goliath’s as a way to atone for his past crimes. While […]
Long as maps have been produced, colorists have been used to add a bit of color to the map. Most of the time, this was done by hand, as early as the 1400s. However, over time the method would improve with the use of wooden blocks, intaglio, and eventually automated to a degree in the 19th century […]
Part 1 The european exploration of North America was as tumultuous as it was fascinating. According to formal history it began in the late 1400s with the famous voyage by Christopher Columbus. Once the European explorers landed here, they shortly returned to Spain. This trip was just a scouting trip of sorts and an effort to look […]
Plains Indians were known for their paintings, or narrative drawings, produced on paper or cloth. Usually, the medium was contingent upon whatever was handy. In the beginning, this would mean drawings and paintings were produced on animal skin. Dakota man painting figures (winter count) on buffalo skin. 1929. Photo by J.A. Anderson. Source – National Anthropological Archives, […]
Mississippi River Ribbon Maps from an article by Bob Mullen, for The Paddlewheel newsletter published by the Golden Eagle River Museum, St. Louis, Missouri Imagine a map of the Mississippi River that shows all of the cities and towns along the river and all the landings where a steamboat might stop. Make the map about three […]
Map of Michigan and Wisconsin 1858 This is a beautiful map of Michigan and Wisconsin that utilizing a copperplate engraving method. This was quite popular during that time period, and often times copper plates were bought and sold just as common pieces of construction machinery are today. They were interchangeable and could be used […]
On one of my favorite maps in my collection two trails are prominently posted- the Hudson Bay Trail and the Spanish Trail. After spending a month in Arizona exhibiting in art shows my interest was piqued…what was the Spanish trail and what legends does it contain? In the early to mid-1800s, the Spanish Trail gained […]
Derrotero hecho por Antonia VĂ©lez y Escalante….en el Camino de Monterrey a Santa Fe de Nuebo Mexico. As I was going through some southwest maps recently I came across this map. As a map artist I am most attracted to maps that tell a story.  I instantly fell in love with the little characters at […]
It is always said that hindsight is 20/20. However, that is not always the case when it comes to cartography. Going back only reveals the many mistakes that were made throughout the years. It is amazing to see how long a lot of them were propagated. Some lasted for centuries. It makes you chuckle and […]
The Legend of Verrazano’s Sea As seen in one of my newest maps Floridae Americae Provinciae 1564 In the early 1500s there was somewhat of a geographical oddity at work if you were to look at a map of North America. This is partly due to a discovery flaw known […]
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