Maps

Maps like everything else have evolved. Before the advent of the internet and now smart phones maps came on paper.  Sometimes I miss paper maps. We still buy them because while I can plot my route with my phone I love to unfold a map to find the one less traveled on a paper map.

They have that wonderful paper smell and feel (well, unless you found them stuffed under the seat of your car after a well attended and slightly drunken party. Then, if you're lucky, they only smelled of stale beer.)

Most of them folded into pocket size packets packed with terrific information.

That is, of course, if you could fold them back up after opening them.

For some reason I was good at re-folding maps. It must be a spacial thing.

Some maps were colorful fully-illustrated pieces of artistry.

Some maps were utilitarian, black and white, just give me the facts, ma'am.

Maps told people more than where they were 

and which way they should be going to get where they wanted to be.

They could express the social norms of the region they covered.

They could advertise the exclusivity or the undesirability of an area.

They could express the political climate of the region.

And, some?

 

 They are harder to define.

It's maps like this one that conjures up all sorts of feelings about who and where we were as a nation and as people in 1856. This one is now a lesson, albeit a painful one, in history.

There are thousands of old maps available online these days. Our map collection goes up in just a matter of weeks but check out the Library of Congress, the World Digital Library or my friend Julie's map collection at the Arizona Memory Project for other sites with maps.

Love,

M

PS: sometime this week I'll get the pictures of me and a giant smurf up. It is one photo that I can't explain away with drink.

Little Librarian

If this

produces this?
Why would parents

buy this?

Love,
M

The bun, the sensible shoes, the long skirt, and the glasses it is just plain scary.

RTT - The Different Shades of Washington DC

Keely has been in a bit of a funk lately.
I can't hardly blame her.
It's hard to keep up with house, family, kids and (gasp) your very own life
but it is especially hard when your job is harshing your buzz like Keely's is.
So head over there and give her some comment love.
Cuz, you all know that we need it.

I spent a whole day on Thursday here.
This is the National Archives.
They have some of the cool old stuff in the United States.
They have the Declaration of the United States.
They have lots of documents, reports, and papers from both World Wars,
and various other important events in US history.
They have some really great things.
They think that they have ALL the cool old stuff in the United States
but they are wrong.
Because do you know who has more?

That would be the Library of Congress.
Not only do they have more cool stuff but
they have every book, movie and recording ever published
and anything else that is produced in the United States (it's a rule).
They have millions of their items digitized.
They have employee 4500 people to take care of millions upon millions of items.
They receive 25,000 items everyday and keep 10,000 of them.
EVERY.SINGLE.DAY!
Now, if I wasn't a librarian I could figure out how many items this is in a year but I would have to count on my fingers and toes a whole bunch of times.
Why don't they keep all of them?
Because they already have copies of some of the stuff (yes, stuff is a technical term).
FYI, It pays to know someone who is a librarian there.
The back stage tour rocks.
The stacks and the vaults are awesome.
Us librarians are such rebels. That photo above?
It was taken against the rules. Photos are not supposed to be taken in that room. I feel kind of sneaky.

I walked by this building a couple of times.
I didn't go in.
I had heard that the people in this building were
making some really important decisions about health care reform.
From what I hear they did.
All of it scares me. Why do I get the feeling that we have put the wolves in charge of the hen house?
What they accomplished is so much less than they could have done.
Does that sound cynical?

This must be the largest phallic symbol in the United States if not the world.
Four square shaped balls?
Should the monument see someone for that?
Sculptor or cement worker?


I hung out with my friend Robin.
Yes, we did play dorky tourists.
We were perfect for the part.
Look at that hair. The weather was a tad humid so my hair decided to go its own way.
Right after this Robin spilled pasta sauce all over her scarf. It pays to wear black. Slimming and food droppings proof. The girls may not be large but they catch their share of food.

We had great food in the Little Italy section of Baltimore.
Imagine an Italian restaurant on every corner of a six square block area.
I was in carb heaven.
We ended up at the neighborhood hang out.
The only place to be.
After eating a ridiculous amount of food
Robin and her husband took me to the airport.
Where I had a free glass of wine at the bar.
Looking sad and pathetic reaps rewards.

That is the quick tour of Washington DC and Baltimore. I'll post a bit more tomorrow.

Love,
m

Historic Maps or what looks like maps but could be something different

Amérique campagne.

CREATED/PUBLISHED

1782.

Camp a Huntz Tavern
These maps were drawn and used during the American Revolution.
They are quite detailed. Especially if you consider that they were drawn before GPS and GIS.
Is it me or does this map look sorta like internal organs?


Camp a Bullion's Tavern
"They come from the book The American Revolution and Its Era: Maps and Charts of North America and the West Indies, 1750-1789 represents an important historical record of the mapping of North America and the Caribbean." This is the quote from the website which is really the quote from the cataloger. Catalogers by nature don't seem to be a really creative bunch. I probably would have described this in a wholly and most likely inappropriate way.



Camp a Philadelphie [sic]
This book consists of about 2000 manuscript (manu = hand, script = written) maps from some of the most famous map makers of the time.
Notice that the map maker tells us which way the river flows. Every important info there. I imagine that it is easier to float your boat down river than up.



Peyton's Tavern

Yes, it does seem like they spent a lot of time at the tavern. I understand totally. The thing is that the tavern was more than a place to buy and drink liquor. Sure, they did that but taverns served as the hotel/diner/polling place/social networking place. Let's call them the Facebook of the 18th century.
Okay, more internal organs map.



Camp a Baltimore

Julie; my map librarian extraordinaire, what does Rade mean in historical map speak?

Want to see more? Want to see them in more detail? Want to zoom in and actually see the detail? Well, you'll need to head on over to the Library of Congress website because the big jerks turned off the right click feature. Making it harder for me to pilfer through their collection.
Check out The American Revolution and Its Era at the American Memory Project.

Have a great weekend everyone!
Love,
M

Houdini Advertising Posters

Where did I get this cool stuff? I found it on the American Memory Project published by my good friends at the Library of Congress.



Did you know that all the books in the Library of Congress burned in the war of 1812 and Thomas Jefferson sold the government his library at Monticello to replace it? (let's forget for a moment that he was broke and needed the money pretty badly at this time.) Many in Congress were not happy with the purchase because they couldn't understand why they would ever need science and philosophy books to run the country.


Maybe, if more of our politicians would spend a little more time reading and a little less time watching their poll numbers, Fox news (oxymoron if you ask me) and sucking up to lobbyists our country might be a little better off. Sorry, end of rant.




Now, the Library of Congress collects one of every published and some unpublished works they can get their hands on. Wouldn't it be fun to browse their shelves?

Love,
M