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FOREWORD TO THE THIRD EDITION
In the foreword to the second edition of this book the authors noted the suggestions by reviewers that the expansion of a number of chapters would give a more complete history of the subject. Many of the ideas put forward then have been adopted in producing this enlarged edition, although the need to keep printing costs at a reasonable level has imposed some limitations on the method of presentation.
Briefly, about 70 biographies have been added in a Supplement at the end of the book: an asterisk in the original text indicates such an entry. Most of these biographies cover new material -- with emphasis on cartographers of North America, Scandinavia and Switzerland - but some are revisions or expansions of existing entries and, occasionally, this has led to repetition of detail for which we must be forgiven. Where dates and/or spellings differ from the original text, the amendments are intentional and can be accepted as correct.
Special attention is drawn to the amended - and expanded - biographical note in the Supplement on Martin Waldseemuller which includes detail provided by recent German researchers not readily available -- as far as the authors are aware -- in the English language.
Apart from the Supplement, other additions have been made where space allowed within the old text. Notably, Chapter 8, which originally gave a short history of the Ordnance Survey in the British Isles, has been expanded to cover topographical maps generally as well as brief details of national surveys in European countries. The opportunity has been taken to give a more detailed account of the history of the British Ordnance Survey.
It is hoped that these considerable additions to the book will widen still further its appeal not only to map collectors but also to all those interested in the history of cartography.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Authors are grateful for assistance received from many quarters in the preparation of this Handbook; in particular they wish to express special thanks to the following: Peter Baxter, Clive Burden, Edinburgh University, Robert Evans, Dr J. V. Garrett, Lord Herstmonceux, Mr and Mrs G. Hill, Mr and MrsR. Linter, Louis Loeb-Larocque, Magna Gallery (Oxford), Dr Tony Morris, the Revd S. Salter, Rodney Shirley, Mr and Mrs P. M. Walshaw, Jack Watson and Simon and Clair Bannister. They are also grateful to the Dean and Chapter of Hereford Cathedral for their permission to quote from the booklet, The World Map in Hereford Cathedral (8th edn), published by Friends of the Cathedral, and to reproduce an illustration of a portion of the map. Also to William Heinemann Ltd for permission to use a quotation from Summer of the Red Wolf by Morris West.
And, finally, their especial thanks are due to Audrey Greenwell and Jenni Wilson for typing, re-typing and, dare we say, typing yet again those drafts, lists of cartographers and map titles in half a dozen different languages, with their seemingly endless amendments and additions - all absorbed with equal facility.
PREFACE
Nobody would argue that the ideal collectors' hand book should contain every imaginable detail on its subject and yet be small enough to fit neatly into a pocket to be readily available at a moment's notice. An ideal it might be, but, at least where our subject is concerned, unattainable, for to be useful at all a book about maps must provide some historical background, however brief, and include information on an immensely wide range of individual cartographers, engravers and publishers as well as illustrations of reasonable size. Having said that and made our excuses for producing a book of conventional size we have to confess that, even within its present bounds, we cannot pretend that we have been able to treat the subject exhaustively, but we hope that, especially in Part II, we have included in readily accessible form a great deal of information from many sources which collectors, or anyone interested in antique maps, may wish to find at short notice. Indeed, we emphasize 'short notice', for over many years our experience of dealing and cataloguing has shown that in seeking information about a particular cartographer one often has to browse through maybe half a dozen different works; our constant aim, therefore, has been to set out such detail so that it can be found in a few moments. We have included notes on cartographers, publishers and engravers of many countries but fuller biographies, for obvious reasons of space, have been limited to names prominent in the history of map making. Generally speaking, in listing their works, we have restricted our detail to complete atlases with occasional reference to individual maps where these are of special importance, always bearing in mind that this book is addressed to the general collector rather than to the specialist. Some may say that we have been too brief; to that our answer must be that a definite limit has to be set to the size and scope of a book of this nature otherwise it may well become as voluminous as the works it attempts to condense. To emphasize our declared purpose of providing a guide for the general collector it may be of interest to note that all the maps illustrated, with about half a dozen exceptions, are, or have been at one time or another, in the possession of the authors.
For those who wish to pursue the subject in greater detail we include an extensive bibliography, although it must be noted that many of the works quoted are now out of print and copies may be available only in specialist libraries to which few of us have access. The authors make no claim to any original research beyond that needed to develop the theme of the book; indeed, they can do no better than to recall yet another of John Speed's apt comments to his 'Gentle, well favoured reader' wherein he says 'It may be objected that I have laid my building on other men's foundations, as indeed, who can do otherwise in a subject of this nature.'