n Some maps capture the imagination and inspire so much imitation that they become icons. Harry Beck’s 1930s map of the London Underground is one of the best examples (here […]
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n Despite the quip about American beer being like making love in a canoe, the US produces a multitude and a variety of brews that belie the homogenised tastes of […]
n “The American Geographical Society Library has acquired an extremely rare and unusual map, The Man of Commerce, published in 1889 in Superior, Wisconsin. The highly detailed 31″ x 50″ […]
n “Thanks to Unicode and OpenType, modern fonts are overcoming thelimitations of traditional European typography. The size of the countries on this map does not correspond to their geographical area, […]
n What a great way this map is to present global levels of wine consumption (red wine, 2006). A shame there’s no legend to provide context (by way of litres […]
n n Endtime prophecy is not the province of the religiously excitable alone. Even the die-hard materialists of the Russian intelligence service FSB (formerly the KGB) dabble in apocalyptic musings – although […]
Perhaps the least-known of the four national saints’ days on the British Isles
This map excerpt of the environs of Jerusalem is strangely reminiscent of this one, showing Belgium partially submerged along ethnic lines. Both maps solve the seemingly intractible disputes inherent in […]
a stark illustration of the West Bank’s ongoing fragmentation
“The man of breeding never appears to abandon himself completely to his pleasures; even his manner of enjoyment is detached. It is the rustic boors who take all their pleasures […]
In the end, the Dutch went for the less ambitious drainage scheme of Cornelis Lely
Long dead and gone, the Rochester Subway lives on in the imagination – and on this map
The original map of Treasure Island was lost – if it still exists, it must surely be worth a fortune now…
A youngster in breeches and an elderly man with a scythe, both white and together looking rather vulnerable, are playing dice against a team of unreliable-looking Asians. The object of their […]
The US goes by the motto In God We Trust (but only since 1956, when it replaced the ‘unofficial’ motto, E pluribus unum). A motto (from the Italian word for […]
(click map to enlarge) A truism in geopolitics holds that “geography is destiny.” Maps don’t have to be so dramatically laden with meaning, though. In this case, geography is mere […]
n There’s some corner of an English field that is forever Australia. n This almost century-old chalk map of Oz, carved into a Wiltshire hillside, seems to validate the above […]
Gone are the days when crossing a border in Europe almost always meant having to change currencies. Converting guilders into Deutschmark, francs to pesetas, or whatsits into whatnots — all […]
The flight of the Freudenheims through the colourful crayons of their 11-year-old son Fritz
Was this map supposed to scare secessionist Virginia back into the Union?
Varanasi, supposedly founded by Shiva, draws a million pilgrims each year
As the Soviets move to rein in Yugoslavia, the US and UN strike back…
Could the urge to use bad puns as names for hair salons be universal?
Back in 1920, native-born Parisians were a minority in their own city
Travellers, discoverers and cartographers have named the world around us so that we might find our way in it. The purpose of a place name, therefore, is to be as […]
This blog reached its 10 millionth hit last Tuesday. That is amazing. I’m speechless. Well, almost: n Thanks to all visitors, casual and regular, for helping Strange Maps reach that […]