T H E  N E A T L I N E
		A Newsletter of the Texas Map Society           Vol V No 2 Winter 2002

By David Buisseret and Katherine R. Goodwin

The recent joint meeting of the Texas Map Society and the Philip Lee Phillips Society, coupled with the Virginia Garrett Lectures in the History of Cartography, provided a blockbuster weekend for attendees. The meetings, titled "The Third Coast: Mapping the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea," brought together speakers from across the nation to explore mapmakers and mapping in general and the mapping of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea in particular. In addition, attendees were treated to a series of events, receptions, luncheons and dinners organized to enhance the weekend experience.

The meetings began on Friday, October 4^th, with the Virginia Garrett Lectures in the History of Cartography. The lecture series was established in 1998 as a biennial series to explore topics in cartographic history, publicize the holdings of the library’s map and atlas collections, and encourage research and study in all things cartographic. This session, the third in the series, explored the cartographic history of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. In particular, the conference looked at ways in which maps and other related imagery have been used to depict the environment, geography, peoples, habitats, and political realms of the region.

Leading the distinguished group of scholars was Texas Map Society founding member David Buisseret, chair holder of the Jenkins and Virginia Garrett Endowed Chair in Greater Southwestern Studies and the History of Cartography at UTA, who introduced the series topic with his presentation, "The European Mapping of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, 1500-1800." Buisseret spoke of the first efforts of the Spanish in charting the waters and islands of the area, as well as the early work of the Spanish engineers to delineate towns and cities. Meanwhile the work of the French and English focused on the extraordinary large-scale maps of the countryside. In addition, Buisseret looked at the work of the religious orders on the mainland as well as the contributions of the native inhabitants. He concluded, that as the twentieth century dawned, many areas on both the mainland and in the islands remained poorly mapped.

J. Barto Arnold, of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology at Texas A&M University, delivered a lively talk on the excavation of La Salle’s ship the Belle and Civil War blockade runner the Denbigh. Arnold also revealed information and commentary on other known shipwrecks in Texas waters, casting light on nautical conditions of the period that caused the problems encountered by ship captains. In his talk, Arnold spoke of the ways in which maps are used to guide underwater archaeologists in their search to locate sunken ships.

After lunch, Louis DeVorsey, Professor Emeritus of Geography at the University of Georgia, spoke about his experiences in arguing two cases before the United States Supreme Court concerning the precise boundary of the Gulf of Mexico. In both cases, DeVorsey served as an expert witness, and historic maps and charts played a vital part in the proceedings.

The afternoon’s proceedings came to an end with a stimulating panel discussion on the cartography of the Gulf Coast at the time of the conflict between the Spaniards and the French during the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The panelists, both independent scholars who have written extensively on the area, Jack Jackson of Austin and Robert Weddle of Bonham, were able to show that there had been some collaboration between the contending parties. They also clearly demonstrated that the renewed burst of mapmaking owed everything to political considerations and international competition. Dennis Reinhartz, Professor of History at UTA, moderated the panel.

The evening activities began with a reception and the opening of the conference exhibition, "The Third Coast: Mapping the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea." Attendees enjoyed light refreshments and strolled through Special Collections, where eighty-two maps, atlases, and geographies, dating from 1508 to 1900, were on display. A four-color gallery guide was presented to attendees to commemorate the event. Dinner followed with speaker Richard Francaviglia presenting an intriguing discourse entitled "Cannibals and Cartographers: The Role of Supposition in Mapping the Gulf of Mexico." Francaviglia, the director of the Center for Greater Southwestern Studies and the History of Cartography at UTA, explored the way maps employ deeply held myths even as they attempt to depict real places. One of these myths perpetuated by cartography was that cannibalism abounded in the area of the Gulf and Caribbean. However, Francaviglia suggested that cannibalism was actually a metaphor for the fear of explorers disappearing into, or being consumed by, the tropical environment itself. Using dozens of maps and illustrations for the period 1500 to 1800, he demonstrated how the depictions of cannibalism slowly disappeared and were replaced by natural history drawings based on careful observation rather than speculation.

Saturday brought another day of exciting speakers and events as the joint meeting of the Texas Map Society and the Philip Lee Phillips Society convened on the sixth floor of the Central Library. The day began with UTA’s own Dennis Reinhartz, whose talk, "Divided by Empire, United by Tourism: The Tourist Maps of Sint Maarten/Saint Martin," was in keeping with the weekend’s theme. Reinhartz spoke of the island’s division between the French and the Dutch and the lack of acknowledgement of this fact on tourist maps. He examined the maps and found them to emphasize the business of their sponsors. Of great interest to the crowd were the samples of fabric maps Reinhartz brought to demonstrate his talk.

Departing from the concentration of the Gulf Coast and the Caribbean, Heather Wanser, the Senior Paper Conservator at the Library of Congress, offered a remarkably rich summary of the best way to care for maps. She explained the various ways of making paper, explaining that some papers were likely to self-destruct and that others would be damaged by their adhesion to backings which have different rates of expansion and contraction. She identified and demonstrated a variety of dangerous substances, including light, acid, and insects, but admonished the audience to remember that humidity is the most dangerous of all.

Gregory McIntosh, an independent scholar and author of Cerritos, California, offered a close analysis of the Caribbean portion of the Piri Reis map dated 1513. He presented evidence of place-names rather than the more subjective assessment of coastal outlines. He concluded that this famous map consists of two pieces, rather unsatisfactorily joined together. One of these pieces, he contends, does derive from a map of one of the Columbus brothers as Piri Reis claimed.

At lunch, John Crain, of the Summerlee Foundation of Dallas and incoming Texas Map Society President, offered an analysis of the work of Herman Grosius, who drew bird’s-eye-views of a number of Texas towns around 1872-3. Examining the Grosius plan of Dallas, Crain concluded that it contained a good deal of fantasy, including phantom railroad lines, factories, and elegant homes. After lunch, Archie McDonald, of Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, spoke on Jedediah Hotchkiss, the self-taught cartographer who eventually became staff mapmaker to  Confederate General Stonewall Jackson. In this role, Hotchkiss had an extraordinary talent for the speed and accuracy with which he could set out the topography and mark the positions of the opposing Union forces.

The afternoon program concluded with "Kit’s Kartographic Korner," which was hosted by UTA’s Cartographic Archivist, Kit Goodwin. The popular session provides a showcase for members and guests to bring to the group a favorite map or atlas. They may ask for information about the item or its mapmaker, point out some aspect that appeals to them, or generally discuss the map with the group. It is informal, and participants are requested to limit their discussion to ten minutes. This session was especially lively as many first time attendees brought items to show. There were some unusual maps and atlases, including a rare Herman Moll atlas from the 1720s and a modern map of the Antarctic with hand drawn and colored animals. The highlight of the meeting, however, was when John Hébert, Chief of the Map and Geography Division of the Library of Congress, brought out the facsimile sections of the 1507 world map of Martin Waldseemüller currently at the Library. Hébert spread the sections out on a large table in the Virginia Garrett Cartographic History Library, and one hundred twenty-eight people crowded around to see the $10 million map. The Library of Congress is in the process of purchasing the rare map, which has been called "America’s Birth Certificate" because it contains the first depiction of the New World.

The whirlwind weekend concluded with a special evening at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art in Fort Worth. The museum hosted an exhibit of its maps especially for attendees of the Garrett Lectures and the joint meeting of the Texas Map Society and the Philip Lee Phillips Society. A seated dinner followed a reception and tour of the newly remodeled and expanded museum.

The Garrett Lectures, along with the joint meeting of the Texas Map Society and the Philip Lee Phillips Society, was a triumph for all involved! The meeting brought in a record number of attendees to the University to see and explore some of the fine collections at UTA Libraries. The group of speakers was outstanding, giving an extraordinary array of talks focusing on maps, mapmakers, and associated topics.