Question about Reprints

[Ashton Forbes]

Hello,

I am new to Nat Geo map collecting and was wondering about some of the early maps. I have found some online saying "reprint" on them. Specifically the January 1902 Philippines and 1896 Submarine cable maps. Does this mean it was a Nat Geo reprint and if so what time were they reprinted and are they worth anything? Also i was thinking maybe it meant a reprint of another map but a first for Nat Geo.

A little help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[Philip Riviere]

Ashton,

In 1964 The National Geographic Society reprinted all the magazines and maps from 1888-1907 (the 1st 20 years) They made 1000 copies of the individual issues and an unknown number of bound sets. They were reprinted because of the small amount of issues surviving from 1888-1907. Reprint maps and magazines are valuable. The maps are usually found with their magazine. It is very, very hard an expensive to find early original maps. Even individual reprint maps are getting hard to find. Most collector's cannot afford some of the more expensive original maps (like the 1902 Philippine set) and get reprints..

I hope this helps you out

Best,

Phil

[Ashton Forbes]

Thanks that helps a lot. Any idea on the value of the 1896 reprint in vg condition?

[Philip Riviere]

Ashton,

The March 1896 reprint magazine and map might sell for anywhere from $30.00 to $100.00. The map alone would probably sell for1/3 of that.

Phil

[Ashton Forbes]

Would the 1964 copy of the 1902 Philippine map go for about the same? In VG condition.

[Philip Riviere]

Ashton,

NO... Those maps(2) are the most valuable maps of all the Nat Geo Maps.. Even though it's a reprint I can see a collector paying $150 to $200  for it because an original goes for $2000 and up and is almost impossible to find.....

Phil

[Melvin L. De Vilbiss]

You can find many of the older maps reproduced for sale by the NGS at the following link:

http://maps.google.com/gallery/publisher?pub=National+Geographic+So...

Unfortunately, the 1902 Philippine maps are not included in their offering.

[Ashton Forbes]

Oh wow. I got both parts for $9 a piece on ebay. Could they be 1975 reprints?

[Philip Riviere]

The 1902 Philippine maps were only reprinted by the Nat Geo Society in 1964. They could however be reprinted by someone other than the Nat Geo Society. The Nat Geo Society lost its copyrights for all material from 1888 to 1922.. A few companies have reprinted a lot of this material including maps. Maybe your $9.00 maps were one of those reprints. Most collectors avoid those companies completely.

Phil

[Melvin L. De Vilbiss]

Actually Phil, the NGS did not copyright its publications through 1907. The January 1908 issue, copyrighted 1907, was the first.

As to loosing copyright from 1908 through 1922 I'm uncertain; I don't recall the legal formula for original copyright + one extension.

[Ashton Forbes]

They seem pretty old and the seller said they had old nat geo reprinted magazines from what I remember.

[Philip Riviere]

Well I guess you made out real good on a $18.00 investment. I can see no problem getting more than that amount for them.

Phil

[Melvin L. De Vilbiss]

Make sure the National Geographic stamp is on the maps (original and reprint).

There are only two loose (key word is loose) NGS supplemental "reprints" that do NOT include the word REPRINT on them. The maps in this discussion all have the word REPRINT on them.

A couple of points about the two Philippine maps:

1) The NGS reprints have the word "REPRINT" clearly stamped on them.

2) These two maps were not NGS publications, but the NGS did stamp those they inserted into their magazine distribution. The government office that issued them also produced the maps w/o the National Geographic stamp (though I am not certain of their distribution, i.e. other than government agencies). This applies to the originals - but could also apply to reprints of same (though I do not know first hand of such reprints).

Note: I do know of such reprints (without the NGS stamp) for the April 1898 map "The Gold and Coal Fields of Alaska," which makes this scenario seem possible for the 1902 maps. Something to watch for.