from “Fat Tailed Sheep on Maps of Africa”
The Map Collector, 1 June 1979
Collectors are a peculiar lot. They can frustrate somber scholars with their unconventional research methods and seeming interest in objects rather than context. Yet the passion and obsessiveness of collectors often produces an endless source of interesting materials.
The Map Collector (1977-1996) was a magazine devoted to maps as collectible objects. Within its pages could be found some rather interesting articles on all sorts of maps and cartographic ephemera.
Where else would one find an article about fat-tailed sheep illustrated on old maps of Africa?
Yes they are real (source and here)
Kunstpedia, a “knowledge base on fine and decorative arts, popularly stated arts and antiques, with the exception of contemporary art” has acquired permission to publish Map Collector articles, full text with images, on their web pages.
Articles, which continue to be added to the site, include:
“One of America’s Foremost Cartographers: Jed Hotchkiss”
by Peter Roper
•••••
“Maps on Cigarette Cards”
by Martin Murray
•••••
“Pocket Maps for Travellers”
by Katherine R. Goodwin
•••••
“Maps that made Cabmen Honest”
by Ralph Hyde
•••••
“The Indigenous Maps and Mapping of North American Indians”
by G. Malcolm Lewis
•••••
“The Great Lakes of Africa”
by R.V. Tooley
•••••
“History of Watermarks”
by Bob Akers
•••••
“Old Korean Hand Atlases”
by Shannon McCune
•••••
Also of interest:
- The International Map Collector’s Society and its Quarterly Journal
- Map History / History of Cartography Weblinks maintained by Tony Campbell
- History of Cartography Project
- Recent Trends in the History of Cartography: A Selective, Annotated Bibliography to the English-Language Literature by Matthew Edney
Making Maps: DIY Cartography 