Eratosthenes’ Contribution to Ptolemy’s Map of the World

This article attempts to shed some light on the origins of Ptolemy’s map of the world, which remains a mystery. The premise is that Ptolemy and other ancient geographers largely drew on the same or a similar pool of sources and common beliefs. Similarities between them can, therefore, give us a key to understanding the prehistory of Ptolemy’s map. Comparison of distances on his map with those given by other sources leads to the conclusion that a large area of the map, approximately from the Bosporus to the Indus, reproduced Eratosthenes’ geographical system, with linear distances converted to angular degrees according to Eratosthenes’ own scale. It is argued that this area represents a remnant of an earlier version of Ptolemy’s map. Analysis of latitude and longitude reveals notable differences between Ptolemy’s map and Eratosthenes’ ideas concerning the latitude of Babylon and the Alexandrian prime meridian, and the impact this seems to have had on the shape of neighbouring regions is noted.     

A Sixteenth-Century Draft Plan of Lisbon’s Western Suburb

The National Library of Brazil has in its cartographic collection a little-known late sixteenth-century ichnographic plan of Lisbon, Portugal, showing the city’s western extramural suburb. In this article the unfinished draft plan is analysed for what it reveals of the mapmakers’ surveying methods. Comparison of the plan with other historical sources suggests that it was produced by Giovanni Vincenzo Casale and Alexandre Massai for military purposes between 1590 and 1597. This makes it the oldest ichnographic plan of Lisbon known to date, replacing the better known ichnographic plan of Lisbon signed by João Nunes Tinoco in 1650.     

清代京杭大运河全图初探

本文将收集到的国内外清代京杭大运河全圈作为史料处理,结合相关文献一一解读各幅运河图本身蕴涵的信息。在此基础上,挖掘出清代在绘制运河全图时常用的一些绘制手法,井就运河图的载体、装订形式加以分析。进而根据绘制风格等的差异,将清代运河全图的绘制划分为前期和后舰又依据用途和内容的不同,划分为运河河工图、漕运图、运河泉源圈和运河景观图四种。作者试图通过分析论证,挖掘出地图的史料价值,找到一个利用地图学视角观察社会历史景观的路径。     

The Influence of Goethe's Farbenlehre on Early Geological Map Colouring: Goethe's Contribution to Christian Keferstein's General Charte von Teutschland (1821)

An analysis of Goethe's Farbenlehre (Theory of Colours), and of its significance for the development of geological mapping, requires an interdisciplinary approach and specific knowledge of both the history of cartography and the science of chromatics. Thus far there has been little research in either of these areas by historians of geological cartography or by students of Goethe's Farbenlehre. In particular, the influence of Goethe's Theory of Colours on early geological map colouring has not yet been explored, and the present article is an attempt to rectify that omission. After an introduction to the emergence of geological maps during the Age of Enlightenment, the discussion focuses on Goethe's substantial contribution to the selection of colours for Christian Keferstein's General Charte von Teutschland (1821). Detailed study of the available textual and cartographical source material reveals that Goethe applied the principles of his Farbenlehre as a basis for the colour chart that Keferstein used to delineate the rock formations shown on his map. The article concludes with a brief consideration of the extent to which the joint Goethe–Keferstein venture influenced the future of geological map design.     

Bishop Leslie's maps of Scotland, 1578

Meret Petrzilka, Die Karten von Laurent Fries von 1530 und 1531 und ihre Vorlage, die ‘Carta Marina’ aus dent Jahre 1516 von Martin Waldseemüller. Dissertation der philosophische Fakultāt II der Universität Zurich, Zurich 1968/69. pp. 170, illustrations and maps.

Werner Becker, Vom alten Bild der Welt ‐ alte Landkarten und Stadtansichten. Leipzig, Verlag Koehler &; Amelang, 1969. pp. 268.

Schöne alte Karten. Mappe mit 24 Kartenfaksimilen. Leipzig, V.E.B. Hermann Haack, 1970.

Fritz Bonisch, Genauigkeitsuntersuchungen am Oederschen Kartenwerk von Kursachsen. In: Abhandlungen der Sächsischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig, Philosophisch‐Historische Klasse, vol. 61, no. 3. Berlin, Akademie Verlag, 1970.

Old maps in Japan. Compiled by M. Nanba, N. Muroga and K. Unno. English translation by Hirochimi Takeda and Peter Anton. Osaka, Sogensha, 1971, pp. 160, with 93 maps in full colour + 4 foldings, 37 x 26 cm. U.S. $ 55.