'Mapping the American Revolutionary War,' based on the fourth Kenneth Nebenzahl, Jr. Lecture in the History of Cartography at the Newberry Library, is the first study of changing cartographic approaches to a single series of military events. J.B. Harley draws on archival material and 18th century published manuals to investigate the contemporary mapping of the Revolution. He classifies the considerable variety of Revolutionary maps into types, discusses the training of contemporary mapmakers, the consequent characteristics of their maps, and, finally, how the maps were used. The chapters by Lawrence W. Towner and Barbara Bartz Petchenik examine the 19th and 20th century cartographic record of the war. Towner describes the work of three major 19th century historians and their roles in perpetuating or modifying the traditional cartographic representation of Revolutionary battles. Petchenik analyzes the maps in dozens of 20th century books, providing a general indictment of their graphic and intellectual quality. She concludes with an instructive account of the problems faced and solved by the staff of the 'Atlas of Early American History' in the preparation of a series of military maps. This book is handsomely illustrated with seventy-five halftones and eleven line cuts, and is a valuable synthesis of the technical characteristics and historical significance of this cartographic genre.

Mapping the American Revolutionary War (The Kenneth Nebenzahl, Jr., Lectures in the History of Cartography at the Newberry Library)

History

Petchenik, Barbara Bartz

Towner, Lawrence W.

Harley, J.B.

Americas

The University of Chicago Press

In this collection of essays J. B. Harley (1932-1991) draws on ideas in art history, literature, philosophy, and the study of visual culture to subvert the traditional, "positivist" model of cartography, replacing it with one that is grounded in an iconological and semiotic theory of the nature of maps. He defines a map as a "social construction" and argues that maps are not simple representations of reality but exert profound influences upon the way space is conceptualized and organized. A central theme is the way in which power―whether military, political, religious, or economic―becomes inscribed on the land through cartography. In this new reading of maps and map making, Harley undertakes a surprising journey into the nature of the social and political unconscious.

The New Nature of Maps: Essays in the History of Cartography

Johns Hopkins University Press

Softcover exhibition catalogue. 8 1/2" X 11" 149 pages. B/Wphotos and illustrations.

Maps and the Columbian Encounter: An Interpretive Guide

Reference

Catalogs & Directories

Univ of Wisconsin Milwaukee

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