HISTORY of
CARTOGRAPHY
Translated, revised and enlarged from the original German edition of 1951, published by Sefari Verlag, Berlin.
The original German editions were published in 1944 (this edition, in which the maps were reproduced by offset, was destroyed by fire before publication) and 1951.
The English translation was made in 1960 by D. L. Paisey and has been revised and augmented by R. A. Skelton.
The new revised German edition was published in 1963. of the English edition 1964 C. A. Watts & Co. Ltd., London.
English edition reprinted (with corrections) 1966
Second English edition reprinted and enlarged with additional maps and illustrations 1985, published by Precedent Publishing, Inc. 737 North LaSalle Street, Chicago, Illinois
Published 2010 by Transaction Publishers
Published 2017 by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Notice:
Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Catalog Number: 2009029166
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bagrow, Leo.
History of cartography / Leo Bagrow ; revised and enlarged by R.A. Skelton.
p. cm.
Originally published: Chicago, Ill. : Precedent Publications, 1985 Enl. 2nd ed.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-4128-1154-5
1. Cartography--History. 2. Maps. I. Skelton, R. A. (Raleigh Ashlin), 1906-1970,
II. Title.
GA201.B313 2009
526.09--dc22
2009029166
ISBN 13: 978-1-4128-1154-5 (pbk)
CONTENTS
Publishers Note
This edition of Bagrow and Skeltons History of Cartography marks the reappearance of this seminal work after a hiatus of nearly forty-five years. As in any reprint project under taken so many years after a book last appeared, finding suitable materials to work from proved to be no mean task. Because of the wealth of monochrome and color plates, the book could only be properly reproduced using the original materials. Ultimately we were able to obtain from the original printer Scotchprints or contact films made directly from the original plates, thus allowing us to preserve the beauty and clarity of Bagrow and Skeltons illustrations.
However, when this material was received there was found, sandwiched in between the films and press proofs, a number of additional monochrome and color maps which, for reasons unknown to us, were not incorporated in any of the earlier editions. These appear at the end of the color section as plates V through Z, and as plates CXVII through CXXXII at the end of the monochrome section. Some of these maps arrived unidentified and all of them had German captions which had to be translated and verified. The pub lisher is especially indebted to Robert Karrow, Curator of Maps of The Newberry Library in Chicago, for devoting the time necessary to help us identify, sort and translate these maps. As a result of his assistance, these additional maps have been fully referenced and indexed and should provide the reader with valuable cartographic sources.
Leo Bagrow (18811957) was a single-minded scholarwith fire in his belly. Through-out his life, and sometimes in the face of daunting difficulties, he pursued the study of early cartography with a passionate energy and stubborn courage. His career had three phases, separated by great political convulsions: Russia till 1918, Berlin 19181945, Stockholm 19451957. During each of these periods, Bagrow made extensive study-joumeys, and he had probably seen more early maps and map-collections than any other scholar of his day. While his published studies (over 70 in number) made important contributions to our knowledge of cartographic history, his activity in developing international co-operation in these studies and in kindling public interest in them has been even more fruitful. His two principal legacies to scholarship were his fine collection of maps, principally of Russia, and Imago Mundi, a periodical devoted to the history of cartography, founded by Bagrow in 1935, continued through thirteen annual issues to the end of his life, and still flourishing.
Bagrow completed his Geschichte der Kartographie in 1943, and it was published by the Safari-Verlag in Berlin in 1951. The history of cartography cannot be comprehended in a single volume, and each of the histories so far published has borne the stamp of its authors personality in selection and arrangement of the materials. Bagrows, written for readers at a different academic level from those to whom he usually addressed himself, is no exception. It is distinguished by its authors zest for his chosen subject and by a ring of authenticity derived from his first-hand knowledge of the maps about which he writes. The limitations which he set himself are indicated in his Foreword.
In this English edition, some rearrangement of Bagrows text has been carried out; a few linking passages have been inserted; and brief notes, mainly of bibliographical character, have been added. The editor, who worked in close association with Bagrow for twelve years, believes that these changes would have been approved by him. Like the original German edition, this version is concerned (in the authors words) with the externals of maps, that is, with maps as craft-products. Its arrangement and chapter division are accordingly governed in the main by the origin of the maps discussed, and not by their subject-content. This accounts for some redistribution of the materials in the present edition and for the small bulk of (The mapping of America), since the products of native American cartography were few and slight before the middle decades of the 18th century, the terminal point of this work.
The great majority of the illustrations, whether in line or in half-tone, are printed from the original blocks of Bagrows Geschichte, which have been courteously made available by Dr. Reinhold Jaspert of the Safari-Verlag. A few illustrations have been added from Mappae Mundi by J. G. Leithuser (Safari-Verlag, 1958); and some new ones have been provided.
That this work is now made available to English readers is due in large measure to the faith and enthusiasm of Mr. T. M. Schuller, of Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons Ltd. to whom the editor expresses his deep indebtedness.
London, 10 July 1963.
R. A. S.
The intention and character of the corpus of illustrations accompanying his History of Cartography were defined by Bagrow in the following terms: In a survey of the early history of cartography, illustration is of great importance. I have always maintained that the reproduction of a map should enable its inscriptions and names to be read. Here however I have preferred to display as many complete maps as possible and to renounce almost entirely the reproduction of details. This conveys a clearer and more comprehensive impression of the map as a whole, to that the reader becomes familiar with the map-types of different periods and the development of their general design.
R. A. S.
Map-collecting is no new growth. The Byzantine monk Maximos Planudes (12601310), after a long search, discovered a manuscript of the
