Contains 78 color maps of North America found searching through medieval libraries and museums. Includes military maps along with panoramic views of the old Southern towns drawn by soldiers in the Civil War.

A standard reference work and collector's guide to old maps. Antique Maps is now firmly established as a definitive reference work. With extensive information on the general historical background, details of all the major map-makers and practical advice on collecting old maps, it provides an excellent introduction for the beginner as well as a mass of precise and clearly organized information for the expert and the serious collector. A beautiful edition in itself, this timeless volume evokes the elegance of maps from the past and the charm of all the distant places they suggest, to show them not only as historical artefacts but also as works of art.

The highly anticipated second edition of Collecting Old Maps is completely revised and expanded with over 400 color illustrations. While maintaining the original approach to the nuts and bolts of map collecting, there is new information on collecting in the digital age, building and disposing of a collection, papermaking history, and the mythological figures, symbols and allegory used in cartography. The most significant change to this new edition is the Map Gallery, which is more comprehensive and profusely illustrated in full color. Nearly 200 maps were assembled to illustrate the five-century evolution of printed maps and how they changed both artistically and technically in response to various cultural and market influences. They illustrate the progression from the simple woodcuts of the incunabula period to the elegant copperplate engravings of Renaissance Italy, then to the Baroque Dutch compositions, the refined style of scientific cartographers, and finally the technically advanced, but sometimes whimsical, approach of 20th-century mapmakers. These maps represent a broad range of geographic regions, cartographic importance, and prices. Rather than focusing on the rare and obscure, these are maps that can be collected today.

Featuring more than 100 beautifully crafted antique maps and charts, previously available only to researchers, this engrossing volume celebrates the art of cartography. Chronologically arranged form the early 1600s to the turn of the 19th century. Extended captions put each map in context and provide fascinating insights into American history, including details about early New York, Boston, and Pennsylvania, and about military engagements of the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. "Provides insight into the historic pageant that is the evolution North America....All levels/collections."--"Choice."