All Discussions Tagged 'map' - National Geographic's Collectors Corner2024-03-29T09:38:15Zhttp://ngscollectors.ning.com/forum/topic/listForTag?groupUrl=map-and-suppliment-collectors&tag=map&feed=yes&xn_auth=noPost-Nathan Map Indexestag:ngscollectors.ning.com,2014-03-29:1029239:Topic:875722014-03-29T18:45:03.367ZGeorge Thomas Wilsonhttp://ngscollectors.ning.com/profile/GeorgeThomasWilson
<div class="qowt-page-container"><div class="qowt-section qowt-eid-E266" id="E-7"><p class="qowt-stl0" id="E67"><strong>Background</strong></p>
<p class="qowt-stl0" id="E73"><span id="E74">In his book</span> <em><span id="E75">“Collectibles of the National Geographic Society”</span></em> <span id="E76">(198</span><span id="E77">2</span><span id="E78">) Roger Nathan carefully documents each map supplement</span> <span id="E79">published with a list that includes year, month, name, additional…</span></p>
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<div class="qowt-page-container"><div class="qowt-section qowt-eid-E266" id="E-7"><p class="qowt-stl0" id="E67"><strong>Background</strong></p>
<p class="qowt-stl0" id="E73"><span id="E74">In his book</span> <em><span id="E75">“Collectibles of the National Geographic Society”</span></em> <span id="E76">(198</span><span id="E77">2</span><span id="E78">) Roger Nathan carefully documents each map supplement</span> <span id="E79">published with a list that includes year, month, name, additional descriptive information, and dimensions (pages 33-52). The list also includes a check box for each map to allow a collector to document which items they have in their collection.</span></p>
<p class="qowt-stl0" id="E81"><span id="E82">Embedded in the list are additional check boxes for any map that had an index published. These check boxes are indented and immediately below the map for which the index references.</span> <span id="E83">These indexes were sold separately by the Society and included a copy of the map either on paper or, as Nathan described, on linen (until 1952), fabric (1952 to 1968), or plastic (after 1968). These maps are</span> <span id="E84">distinguishes from non-indexed maps</span> <span id="E85"></span><span id="E86">by</span> <span id="E87">a letter/number grid either embedded in the map or in the</span> <span id="E88">map’s</span> <span id="E89">border</span><span id="E90">. Letters down the side</span><span id="E91">s</span> <span id="E92">sometimes, but not always,</span> <span id="E93">correspond</span> <span id="E94">with latitude and numbers across the top</span> <span id="E95">and bottom</span> <span id="E96">some</span><span id="E97">times correspond</span> <span id="E98">with longitude depending on the map’s projection.</span></p>
<p class="qowt-stl0" id="E100"><span id="E101">Nathan did an outstanding job documenting these indexes, but he wasn’t perfect. While building the</span> <span id="E102">Map Index</span> <span id="E103">collection template for</span> <span id="E104">his collectors</span><span id="E105">’ web site</span> <span id="E106"></span><span id="E107">Mike Christie</span><span id="E108">,</span> <span id="E109">with the help of Mel De Vilbiss</span><span id="E110">,</span> <span id="E111"></span><span id="E112">made a good catch of an error Nathan made. He listed an index for the June 1940 map Southwestern United States that does not existed. The advertisements for that time list this item as a map only</span> <span id="E113">and,</span> <span id="E114">more importantly, the map does not have a letter/number grid so it could not be indexed.</span></p>
<p class="qowt-stl0" id="E116"><span id="E117">Relying heavily on their work and a few additional sources I am attempting to complete Nathan’s list. In this endeavor, I feel like a paleontologist who, with only a hand full of bones</span><span id="E118">, tries to complete an entire</span> <span id="E119">dinosaur</span> <span id="E120">skeleton; although, in my case, I am just trying to complete the tail.</span></p>
<p class="qowt-stl0" id="E122"><strong><span id="E123">The Golden Age</span></strong></p>
<p class="qowt-stl0" id="E125"><span id="E126">In what I like to refer to as the Golden Age of Maps (and Map Indexes)</span> <span id="E127">the Society would publish five or more maps almost every year along with several map indexes each year. While the map indexes started off slow, with only one in the 1910s and 2 in the 1920s, they took off in the ‘30s and peaked in the ‘40s and ‘50s. By the 1960’s they were in decline even though the maps themselves were still in their h</span><span id="E128">e</span><span id="E129">yday, mostly due to the “Atlas” series.</span></p>
<p class="qowt-stl0 qowt-orphan" id="E131"><span id="E132">In my opinion, this Golden Age ended</span><span class="qowt-orphan" id="E133-orphan">, at least for the Map Indexes, in March 1971 with the publishing of the map of Asia. Between May 1918 and March 1971, the Society published 91 of these map indexes including all of the continents, the world, individual countries, and </span>close-ups on particular regions of the planet.</p>
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<div class="qowt-page-container"><div class="qowt-section qowt-eid-E266" id="E-8"><p class="qowt-stl0" id="E135"><span id="E136">Three images in Nathan’s book show the appearance of these indexes during rise,</span> <span id="E137">apex</span><span id="E138">, and fall of this Age. Page 35 shows the first index: May 1918, The Western Theatre of War. On page 39</span> <span id="E139">a “classic” cover of the December 1943, The World is shown. Finally, on page 50 the cover of the February 1968, The United States map index is displayed.</span></p>
<p class="qowt-stl0" id="E141"><strong><span id="E142">The Beginning of the End</span></strong></p>
<p class="qowt-stl0" id="E144"><span id="E145">In November 1975 the Society published a two-sided map of the world: one side was a physical map and the other a political</span> <span id="E146">map</span><span id="E147">. An index was also published for the political map. I consider this the beginning of the next phase of Map Indexes</span><span id="E148">. The world map was followed in July 1976 by a map of the United States.</span> <span id="E149">On the flip side, t</span><span id="E150">his map has a cloudless photo-mosaic of the lower 48 entitled Portrait USA. The US map also had an index published.</span> <span id="E151">From this point on, the Society only produced pairs of indexes for the United States and the</span> <span id="E152">Political</span> <span id="E153">W</span><span id="E154">orld</span> <span id="E155">published</span> <span id="E156">within a year or so of each other.</span> <span id="E157">The corresponding</span> <span id="E158">maps, a</span><span id="E159">nd</span> <span id="E160">all</span> <span id="E161">of</span> <span id="E162">the map pairs that followed,</span> <span id="E163">have</span> <span id="E164">identical borders. For lack of a better description the borders are a yellow chain link on black bordered by yellow. They have, of course, the letter/number grid</span> <span id="E165">superimposed</span> <span id="E166">on the border.</span></p>
<p class="qowt-stl0" id="E168"><span id="E169">In his book Nathan states that the world map was revised</span> <span id="E170">in 1978, 1980, and 1981. None of these were distributed as supplements so their numbers probable are quite limited. He also states that an index was published for the 1978. He further says that the US map was revised in 1978 and an index for this non-supplement map was published in 1980. At this point I must confess that I possess none of the indexes Nathan describes from 1975 through 1982</span><span id="E171">. I do have all of the supplement maps and they all have the grid for indexing. I also have the 1978 US map published in January of that year and it is basically a revised version of the 1976 map.</span></p>
<p class="qowt-stl0" id="E173"><span id="E174">This map is part of a set entitled</span> <em><span id="E175">“Close-up U.S.A.”</span></em> <span id="E176">and</span> <span id="E177">it has the letter/number grid needed for indexing. The set does not, however, contain an index for this map. Instead, it contains a 208 page hardbound index for the 15 regional maps included in the set. These maps are the same 15 supplement map of the “Close-up U.S.A.” series published between March 1973 and January 1978.</span> <span id="E178">There is a map on one side</span> <span id="E179">of each</span> <span id="E180">and a poster with cultural and historical information about the region</span> <span id="E181">on the other side</span><span id="E182">. They are folded in such a way that the lower right hand corner of the poster</span> <span id="E183">side</span> <span id="E184">forms a “cover”.</span> <span id="E185">A photo of</span> <span id="E186">the cover for</span> <span id="E187">one of these supplements appears on page 32 of Nathan’s book and the set</span> <span id="E188">itself</span> <span id="E189">is described on pages 55 and 56. The 15 regional maps in the set are not revision</span><span id="E190">, they bear the same months and years as the supplements, but they are modified in two ways. First, they have a letter/number grid added to their borders; and second, they all are numbered in the upper right hand corner of the cover</span><span id="E191">s</span><span id="E192">.</span> <span id="E193">These additions allow for a number/letter/number reference in the index.</span></p>
<p class="qowt-stl0 qowt-orphan" id="E195"><span class="qowt-orphan" id="E196-orphan">Getting back to the January 1978 US map, its existence lends credence to Nathan’s claim </span>for the map and index revision he documents, although it is not proof. As I stated earlier, this is all guess work on my part and I might be reading too much into this one “bone” I have in my possession.</p>
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<div class="qowt-page-container"><div class="qowt-section qowt-eid-E266" id="E-9"><p class="qowt-stl0" id="E200"><span id="E201">The next pair of maps, and the last that Nathan documents, are the world map of February 1981 and the US map of September 1982. These were both supplements and basically revisions of the earlier map pair. They do, howe</span><span id="E202">ver, have different flip sides</span> <span id="E203">with the world map having a map of the ocean floors and the US map having</span> <span id="E204">a map of federal land. Since both the world and US maps contain the letter/number grid, I have a high degree of certainty that the indexes for them exist as well. There is a photo of the world index cover on page 52 of Nathan’s book. Nathan’s check box</span> <span id="E205">for the world index lists it as being published in 1982 while the cover display clearly is labeled 1981. Without a copy of the index to check for a copyright, I don’t know if the 1982 date is typo or not. Also, the picture shows that the format for the indexes had changed from a portrait to a landscape mode. Whether this was the first index published in this manner or this format dates back as far a 1975 I have no idea.</span></p>
<p class="qowt-stl0" id="E207"><strong><span id="E208">Post</span> <span id="E209">–</span><span id="E210">Nathan</span> <span id="E211">Indexes</span></strong></p>
<p class="qowt-stl0" id="E213"><span id="E214">This next paragraph is pure speculation on my part</span><span id="E215">. If the 1978 and 1980 indexes were published and if the Society stuck to the pattern of regular revisions there might be a map pair in the 1984 (world) and 1985 (US) time frame. This is idle speculation on my part, or perhaps wishful thinking.</span></p>
<p class="qowt-stl0" id="E217"><span id="E218">The next pair of supplement maps was issued in September 1987 (US) and December 1988 (world). They</span> <span id="E219">both have the grid and</span> <span id="E220">are again</span> <span id="E221">basically</span> <span id="E222">rev</span><span id="E223">isions of the same two maps but, like previous supplement pairs, they have</span> <span id="E224">different backs. The US map has</span> <span id="E225"></span><span id="E226">a map of</span> <span id="E227">territorial growth</span> <span id="E228">on its flip side while the w</span><span id="E229">orld</span> <span id="E230">has a poster entitled</span> <span id="E231"></span><span id="E232">“E</span><span id="E233">ndangered</span> <span id="E234">E</span><span id="E235">arth</span><span id="E236">”. These maps co</span><span id="E237">incid</span><span id="E238">ed with the Society’s centennial</span><span id="E239">.</span> <span id="E240">Because of this fact a double</span> <span id="E241">map</span> <span id="E242">index was published as part of the 100 Years cumulative index package the Society put out.</span></p>
<p class="qowt-stl0" id="E244"><span id="E245">At that time the Society also published at least one individual index in 1988 for the world. I know this for a fact because I have it in my possession.</span> <span id="E246">It has a special, commemorative cover. I’m enclosing a photo of it at the bottom of this post. I do not know if a similar individual index was printed for the US in 1987 or 1988, but I would be surprised if there wasn’t.</span></p>
<p class="qowt-stl0" id="E248"><span id="E249">If the pattern of index publication I’ve theorized here continued. There would be another pair of indexes in the 1990/1991 time frame and there is at least one</span><span id="E250">. I also have an index for the US dated 1990. This index sports the same cover</span> <span id="E251">design as the 1981 world map index displayed in Nathan’s book. I have enclosed a photo of this index as well. As to whether a world index was produced as well, or this index was made as an afterthought to make up for one not being issue in 1987 or 1988, I haven’t a clue. The two indexes I’ve mentioned having were purchased from John Carey, another member of our little group.</span></p>
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<div class="qowt-page-container"><div class="qowt-section qowt-eid-E266" id="E-10"><p class="qowt-stl0" id="E253"><span id="E254">The next pair of map supplements issued was the</span> <span id="E255">US</span> <span id="E256">map in November</span> <span id="E257">199</span><span id="E258">3</span> <span id="E259">and the World Map in February</span> <span id="E260">1994</span><span id="E261">. Neither of these maps has the letter/number grid superimposed on their respective borders. Further, the world map actual spills over the border on the sides since the border is no longer needed for the grid.</span> <span id="E262">Otherwise they are revisions of the preceding pair.</span> <span id="E263">It is safe to say that not indexes were every produced for these maps. There was one more pair of map supplements printed by the Society</span><span id="E264">, the world in November 2004 and the US in October 2006. Again no grid letters or numbers and, therefore, no index possible. The map indexes as the volume/annual indexes before them are forever out of print. Has the supplement map joined them? Only time will tell.</span></p>
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