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T H E N E A T L I N E | |
| A Newsletter of the Texas Map Society Vol. IV No 1 Summer 2001 | ||
On Thursday evening we attended an open house at the Special Collections facility on the Texas Tech campus where David Buisseret explained the place of the Lubbock Coronelli globe in the history of such cartographic devices. He notes that such devices began with those of the Greeks and continued with those fashioned at the order of President Roosevelt for the use of Churchill and Stalin during the Second World War. The magnificent Coronelli globe at Texas Tech was difficult to fit into what we know of the Franciscan friar’s work, because, at about 4.1 inches diameter, it seemed to be too big to be one of the "production" globes produced from about 1688 onwards. Production globes globes measured about 3.5 feet in diameter, suggesting that the Lubbock globe was perhaps a sort of prototype, generated after the 15-foot version made for Louis XIV in 1683, but before Coronelli had set up the production line for his standard 3.5-inch globes. More research is needed on this fascinating artifact.
The next morning, Shirley Applewhite made use of her collection of cartographic artifacts to show how maps have become omnipresent in our society, even when we do not realize that they are present. She talked about a wide range of textiles, including some wonderful towels from the 1950s. She also produced a variety of kitchen accessories, many of them in the shape of maps. From the kitchen she moved to the office, which also generated a wide range of cartographic artifacts. In many countries of the world, she concluded, map consciousness has penetrated the way we think about design and emerges in the most surprising places.
Jimmy Bryan talked about "Maps of Manifest Destiny," explaining the nature of territoriality and its translation into maps. The cartographic expressions encouraged the idea of Manifest Destiny in three main ways : (1) by setting out the possibilities of expansion, and so firing the imagination, (2) by demonstrating the possibilities of collision with other peoples, and (3) by minimizing the problems in geographic obstacles or in the presence of hostile Indians. The audience looked at a good many maps, teasing out these elements from those of the 1820s, 1830s and 184os.
Richard and Shirley Flint talked about "The Missing Maps of the Coronado Expedition," explaining both the circumstances in which some had to have been made, and the ways in which none could now be found. In addition, the Flints explained how certain parts of Coronado’s route have now been positively identified, largely through the finding of the very distinctive crossbow bolts and the heads of the arrows fired by these weapons. They also pointed out that maps might still be found in Spanish private archives or in some of the great and little explored collections in Rome.
J.C. Martin talked about "James Perry Bryan and his Maps." Bryan was a lifelong collector, who became a regent of the University of Texas about 1957, when the Ransom Humanities Center was getting off the ground. In 1961, he exhibited his "Texas in Maps" to the Regents and eventually sold his collection to the Ransom Center. It may be that this acquisition encouraged the later acquisition of the Kraus Collection, a wonderful storehouse of Western cartography containing much unique material. Martin explained that Bryan’s enthusiasm encouraged him to write both Contours of Discovery and Maps of Texas and the Southwest 1519-1900..
Finally in the late afternoon, Richard Proctor talked about Randolph Marcy, distinguishing him as a line officer from the members of the Topographical Engineers’ Corps. Marcy had a gift for obtaining good assignments, which permitted him to draw a great many maps. His textual descriptions were particularly detailed and accurate, even if the maps do not always coincide with the text. He also put his practical experience into a Prairie Handbook, which gives us a good idea of the problems facing cartographers in the nineteenth century.
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Last Updated 06/21/02