Page 1 of 4 1234 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 32

Thread: Antiquarian Maps and Atlases

  1. #1
    Guild Novice BenjaminGPointer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2021
    Location
    Ludlow, UK
    Posts
    14

    Default Antiquarian Maps and Atlases

    Hello all! In the real world, I'm a hand bookbinder and restorer and, in the course of my work, I frequently restore old maps and atlases etc.
    I figured that there would be interested people here, so I thought I'd share some with you.

    The first three are from a Cosmographia, which contains volvelles to aid in navigation. This book was missing some so I letterpressed a facsimile onto old paper and added it into the book. Unfortunately I didn't take pictures of the same things at each stage...

    IMG_20190621_101728637 (2).jpgIMG_20190731_134657225 (2).jpgIMG_20190731_134718513 (2).jpg

    The next two are of a miniature atlas that needed a joint repair on the outside. The maps inside were in fine condition, but because of the fragile joint I couldn't open it far to get a good picture.

    IMG_20201027_080430505 (2).jpgIMG_20201027_080448233 (2).jpg

    I also work on A LOT of sets of Cook's or Hawkesworth's Voyages, which come with an atlas volume. There are lots of really interesting maps... and then there is this one...
    IMG_20201030_104820141.jpg

    If this sort of thing is of interest to people on here, I will take more pictures of things I'm working on. And if anyone else has interesting old maps they'd be willing to post, I'd like to see those too!

  2. #2

    Default

    Wow, those are awesome. Thanks for preserving them, taking some pictures and sharing with us.
    New Horizons
    Fantasy maps and illustrations.


    All my non-commisioned maps are FREE for personal use. Get them at my home page New Horizons
    Get more of my maps by becoming my Patreon.

    Support:
    Patreon | Tip via PayPal.Me | Buy Me a Coffee

  3. #3
    Guild Expert Adfor's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2018
    Location
    Western Pennsylvania
    Posts
    1,024

    Default

    Really cool! I love seeing old books, especially old atlas'!

    Thanks for doing your part to keep history alive.

    IR

  4. #4
    Guild Novice BenjaminGPointer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2021
    Location
    Ludlow, UK
    Posts
    14

    Default

    I've taken some pictures of what I've been working on most recently. First up is a massive map of part of the Himalayas from 1820.

    Himala 1.jpgHimala 2.jpg

  5. #5
    Administrator ChickPea's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
    Location
    Sunny Scotland
    Posts
    6,884

    Default

    These are great. Thanks for sharing.
    "We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams"

  6. #6
    Guild Novice BenjaminGPointer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2021
    Location
    Ludlow, UK
    Posts
    14

  7. #7

    Default

    Wow... what a fantastic job, and fantastic books !
    I'm the proud owner of a few antique map books, and they're endless inspiration sources

  8. #8
    Administrator Redrobes's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    England
    Posts
    7,257
    Blog Entries
    8

    Default

    How absolutely awsome ! What a treat it is to have so many individuals with such skills on this site.

    I have a question: As a book binder, what is the worst things that you can do to old books to inadvertently destroy them whilst attempting to care for them and read them ?

    I have older fiction & role playing books where the spine is not keeping some of the pages in them well any more and then corners of pages of softbacks getting scuffed from use and also my page ends seem to yellow. Any general tips or definite no no's ?

  9. #9
    Guild Expert Greason Wolfe's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Tigard (and Florence) Oregon
    Posts
    1,771

    Default

    Gotta ask cause I am having no luck finding it so far, which projection is this or which projection is it most similar to? I've seen it before and always liked it for some reason.

    Heylyn 2.jpg

    Edit: Or am I just not seeing it as a simple orthographic because of all the extra little touches to make it look prettier on the whole? ( Wanders off to scratch head for a bit, sure that he is over complicating things)
    Last edited by Greason Wolfe; 02-03-2021 at 02:21 PM.
    GW

    One's worth is not measured by stature, alone. By heart and honor is One's true value weighed.

    Current Non-challenge WIP : Beyond Sosnasib
    Current Lite Challenge WIP : None
    Current Main Challenge WIP : None
    Completed Maps : Various Challenges

  10. #10
    Guild Novice BenjaminGPointer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2021
    Location
    Ludlow, UK
    Posts
    14

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Redrobes View Post
    I have a question: As a book binder, what is the worst things that you can do to old books to inadvertently destroy them whilst attempting to care for them and read them ?

    I have older fiction & role playing books where the spine is not keeping some of the pages in them well any more and then corners of pages of softbacks getting scuffed from use and also my page ends seem to yellow. Any general tips or definite no no's ?
    It's difficult to say a WORST thing because I don't know how you treat your books and it always varies from book to book. High humidity and poor air-flow will lead to mould, pulling books away from the wall/back of bookcase can help with air flow. Smoking as well as leaving a smell in books might increase the rate of deterioration, but probably not by enough to matter. Clean, dry hands will leave less oil on pages so you won't get dark marks wherever you usually turn or flick pages. Don't fold corners! For hardcover books, don't open them too far, so opening flat on the table will make it break sooner (usually). Oh and also don't use the headcap (the little lip at the top of the spine) to pull books off shelves; this weakens the spine and can break the top off.

    Regarding your specific questions: Nothing can be done about scuffing corners other than being careful. Pages yellowing is usually unavoidable, it's heavily dependent on the amount of lignin in the paper, older or cheaper paperbacks usually have terrible paper for yellowing. Aside from my above advice I can only recommend dusting them occasionally. If pages are coming out I assume they are "perfect bound" which basically means that the back edges of the pages are just glued together, rather than sewn and glued. If the pages are all individual, unfolded sheets, the only remedy (that doesn't involve taking the book apart and rebinding it) would be to just carefully run a little glue down the spine edge of the page(s) and reinsert. If in doubt you can message me a picture of the book and damage and I can try and help from there.

    I hope this has been helpful.

Page 1 of 4 1234 LastLast

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •