COLLECTING FIRST STEPS Maps and authenticity Mike Sweeting SAFELY BUYING ANTIQUE MAPS. ‘The question most commonly asked when a person buys their frst antique map is: “How do Tknow Lam buying a real antique map?" People are cautious when entering a new world or starting a new interest. However, today, people feel the need co be even more so concerning claims and provenance in a world of fake news and massaged media, So, what do we all have to be cautious about ~ and how can we feel comfortable as collectors regarding the maps we purchase? I will stick here to the issue of maps, There are almost no immediate ‘entrants buying an atlas or globe nowadays. Those ‘who do are usually thinking in investment terms, The question must now be answered in detail I will also look at how we can gain meaningful answers co certain subsidiary questions. These answers swiftly build a mental profile of the map you are considering buying and allow a decision to be reached, These are: + Does the paper look ight? + Does the colour look right? + Does the condition look right? + Does the description look right? + Does the whole seem right? However, before we go any further, we must be sure we understand certain terms and their effects. For that, we need to make a brief survey of how antique maps were made, Unless we have that basic understanding, we will not really know what to look, for. We also need to grasp that itis normally antique printed maps that we ate talking about. European maps predating c. 1436 are ‘manuscript’ maps. They were drawn and coloured by hand, usually on a very durable medium, usually ‘vellum’ ~ processed calf skin, or ‘parchment’ ~ other processed animal skin. It was the twin discoveries of papermaking and printing that changed the map from being a single unique item, usually of singular beauty into a reproduceable item of general utility. Thankfully, the beauty aspect ‘would continue to be a strong clement for several more centuries— to our great benefit, There were and are also maps that cannot be carried, because they are ‘ona mural, a mossic on the floor, a tapestry, scratched ‘onto a stone, and so on. Such maps may greatly contribute to cartographic history but are not what you are normally being offered by a vendor! CORE ISSUES What is ‘real’? ‘As we go, I will couch on the relevance of each factor in calculating whether you are holding a ‘real’ antique ‘map in your hands or not, and when, at least roughly it dates from. Two things will always dance around ‘each other hand in hand ~ dating and authentication, One always aids the other. Both affect price. Authentication isthe difference between a £10 poster, 4 £100 limieed edition art print of the same famous world map, and the ‘original’ £100,000 original seventeenth century copper print map in all its glory. Date usually both aids authentication and brings nuance, I have often heard confused new collectors speak thus "How can it be a genuine John Speed? I's dated 1676 right there on the front, but Speed died in 1629!” What the person presenting the map means is that version of that map was, according to the also amed printers, Bassett & printed in 1576, They had bought the rights vo Speed's work, which included the printing plates (more on. ‘which is yet to come}. In this case, because the new owners did such a good job, this later edition is almost as weleome to a collector as the frst. well in London, first What is ‘antique’? ‘The buyer of a map also needs to understand that ‘antique’ means ‘over 100 years old” which makes a ‘map produced in 1923 an antique. In The USA, Ihave often seen that word merely used to mean ‘old’ “Vintage’ to me usually means ‘not old enough"! However, lack of age does not make an item automatically uncollectable; or lacking in value. For instance the works of twentieth-century ground= breaking mapmaker Richard Edes Harrison (1901-1994) are much sought after. Value is so often INCOS ive 17 pape vind 30tied up with rarity — and, of course, demand, Collectors of ephemera collect these things because their innate survivability is so low. The map world and the world of ephemera collecting do overlap, This can be seen in the instances of ewentieth-century road maps, airline promotional maps, pietorial maps, and so on, Fphemera very often have a while the core antique map market is more closely. aligned with similar markets within the antiques industry — i.e. smallish, valuable, old, beautiful items. ‘kitsch’ clement, The collector of the former type is normally collecting, “fan tique map collector is collecting history, ‘scientific advance’, ‘exploration’ while the at ‘What medium is wanted? There are also a few collecting interests that overlap) because they too depict maps. Antique playing cards often depicted maps alongside d the card, This was particularly popelar in England, ¢ suit and number of ‘Japon’, . 1842.22 x 18cm: Each at includes three od continents ads portrait ofa costumedrepreseatative of th region (David Romey Historical Map Gellecton) COLLECTING FIRST STEPS partly because the number of English counties fit nicely! (Advances in printing, growing national travel and Enlightenment interest in geography also played a part) This interest overlaps a third — edi tools and toys, Some of the frst jigsaws were dissected maps on and are now ant called antique maps. Maps were occasional designs for sewn samplers, for novelty handkerchiefs, for promotional goods. The overlapping area is ‘with postage stamps, particularly in che eyes of those who collect miniature maps, Such connectis relevant when deciding the limits of your own collecting interests, when considering competition to purchase an item, and consequently, how expensive that item may become with a larger pool of bidders. A sampler of tapestry could be regarded as a form of manuscript map (a manuseript map being a unique map created by hand), Hence it needs to be stated that most map collectors are in practice collectors of antique printed maps. I will not d attracted to map images in any form whatsoever neckties, teapots, coffee mugs and so forth. Some people just want anything ‘mappy’. Thus, the activities of mapmaking and map collecting has attracted an associated ephemera trade of their own, Gift shops in museums and large library with significant map collections naturally capitalise upon this. They have also become outlets for books about cartography es. They too could be y that some Dates and authorities Date normally means year, although sometimes the records of a firm still do exist that enable a closer judgement, There are sometim tools. For example, eighteenth-century English map houses were crazy about advertising ‘new maps’ in newspapers and periodicals, which today is a very helpful tracking tool dating maps, since the larger libravies usually have full runs of the relevant monthly magazines extant. A subscription to The British NEWSPAPER Archive will give you access to explore of hundreds of national, regional an the 1700-20006, they are contemporary to the map. There are also highly specialised and very useful ‘secondary’ tools produced in the centuries since the map first appeared, The newest are normally the best, incorporating all, prior study in their bibliography. When a good map is offered for sale, often you will see om the description references to that map in the secondary authorities, A. simple one might read ‘Shirley, Early Printed Maps Of ‘other corroborative local titles from These are ‘primary’ tools because INCOS ive TA pape. vd 31IM@S MAP JOURNAL SEPTEMBER 2024 No.178 The British Isles, 6a. They are referring to Rodney Shitley’s excellent two volume work on British maps up to 1750, There are two variant maps under heading number 6, The convention usually is that ifthe number 4s in bold the specific map is illustrated in the work. So, let us assume, at this stage, that the imaginary ‘map you hold does not have a date on i. Even ifit did, that may not be as helpfil as one would wish, It may. be the date of a survey which took place fifty years prior. It may be the date the geographer finished the work, not the date the engraver finished his. It may be a ‘current’ date thrown in by an unscrupulous publisher to foist a century-out- of-date map on the public! THE MARKET ‘Maps found on general auction sites like eBay are often mis-dated in my experience, for good or for il. have found some great bargains as well a identifying some absolute clunkers. Auction houses will tend to get more accurate on date the more they can afford to pay specialist advisors. The auctioneers’ fee levels can Fig2 Thomas Rowlandior pipet, Maps ad globes 1975.4913) be an indicator ~ but annoyingly, not always. I look to see ifthey have a named map specialist on strength, and what that person's background may be. Remember that auctions need to attract bidders, so guide prices on maps are usually in the lower percentile. You can gain a good idea of an auction houses policy on guide prices by measuring what was published before the auction in the accompanying catalogue, and after an auetion in the Sale Report. 1 expect chat you will find at least 2 20 percent discrepancy, excluding the House's fees ete. The spread will not be even. Mixed lots of stray maps can be ‘priced to sel’ and at the bottom of the guide price that is expected, Single maps given star billing could sell well above any estimate, Where the organisation sells maps regularly, they will also often know what is coming down the line for consignment, You could be buying at the end ofa cycle when the other four copies of the same map have found a home, and you have become the only person left wanting that map. Specialist online map auctions are really an offshoot of the map trade rather chan general auctioneering, so are usually excellent on date, and 100 percent accurate (€756-1827,°A Book Auction berween 1810 and 1818", Watercolour and geaphice with pen and ink on wove ‘on sale a eis mieteentb-centuty book auction, (Yale Cette fr Bish At, Pail Mellon Collection, INCOS ive 17 pape. vind 32on authenticity. Like auction firms, map dealers have 4 very strong reputational link with the quality of their dating and authentication. Famous rogues have existed though! As in most things there are levels of dealers. The top level is, by definition, international ‘They do not just sel to elients all over the world but have a presence outside their home location, They have a gallery. ‘The mid-level typically have a single location, no longer always a physical shop. The ‘street’ level is not a "bottom! level. It is a mix of small specialist shops, antique dealers with a print section, book dealers with a map section, online-only traders, and a few of the old-style ‘breakers When I sarted collecting, it was common for someone to set up feom home, having bought five atlases that had lost their covers, and/or a map of ewo. They then sold che individval maps, knowing that eventually the cotal retail price of these would far exceed the price they pid initially a auction. These are now internet-only, can be identified by their narrow range of stock, and can be inevitably temporary players. Obviously, i s posible fo be moving either up or down the market chain. Some online dealers are ex-collectors liquidating their collection. ‘My suggestion is that you should always consider the position of the other party. I have bought with confidence from all types. However, with some I have exercised precautions. I prefer to visit the home of a ‘breaker of liquidator. They often have other maps that are high value to me but low value to them. I can gauge whether they love maps or are just after a quick buck (which will inform my estimation of their map descriptions). The backbone traders who form a neework of relationships in your country buy and sell ‘between themselves. They can proctte maps for you that are notin their own inventory. In Britain, many dealers used to attend che monthly map fairs a the Bonnington Hotel in London, including regular visitors from Europe. Although the fairs are discontinued, the relationships formed are not. Many countries have an annual map far, Antiquarian book fairs often have maps and atlases, and even some map dealers exhibit. Fits are not the cheapest place to buy ‘but make up for that in their huge variety of offerings, the buts, and the rare opportunity to possibly consider alternative copies of the same map. Ata fair I set ‘myselfa monetary limit, It’ the map addict’ version of visiting Las Vegas! The dealers there have put 3 lot of time, money and effort into being there. Discounts aze not a priority for them. COLLECTING FIRST STEPS ‘What deserves a premium? It's essentially up to you to decide, What I personally feel attracts a premium and opens my wallet is: “Incidence of opportunity. Will I ever see this map again? This naturally leads to: + Competition to buy it, This is an uncommon. situation, and usually only applies to the objectively rarest maps (A map may just be rare just to you, your dealer or your country.) A traditional dealer usually only offers to one person, ata time, I have turned down a map I now regret not buying but have never been asked to compete. I have had to handle gentle hints that others are also interested, That is different, and evaluation depends on how well you are acquainted with that vendor's practices. * Quality of map above the norm both found before and available now. Will I ever see a copy of this map to this standard again? + Effort the seller has taken to obtaia the map. Did they get it just for me? Really? If asked them to, Thave an obligation to take that into account, {although if is sub-standard or not quite what you asked for, you are under no obligation to purchase at all, never mind pay a premium.) + Excellent provenance or a good story. That individual map may have a story behind it. The map image may have a sory behind it. I have an atlas that was once owned by Sir Henry Fordham, a distinguished turn of the century cartographic voice. It includes some of his notes. The vendor was a bookseller who had never heard of Fordham, so the price to me was unaffected However, the same Atlas offered within the map collecting community could justifiably attracted a premium, [fit had had King James IP's name in front, I would have not been able to afford it. + Contextual romance. By this I mean subjective factors that make a map more appealing to a particular collector or group of collectors. For instance, maps depicting phantom islands and imaginary lands, or maps showing geographical iistakes such as California as an island or maps decorated with sea monsters. To some it means aps used by Sir William Cecil, Queen Elizabeth IMCOS ive 17h pape. vind 32IM@S MAP JOURNAL SEPTEMBER 2024 No, V's spymaster, some of which can be found with annotations in his own hand! + There is also what might be termed ‘normal premium’. This can be most easily seen in a ‘comparison betwee English and Welsh Counties, or a comparison between prices for US maps of the USA and French maps of France. People always pay more for Middlesex: because it includes London. They pay more for Oxfordshire because it has a fimous university in (maybe their university). There are more people able and willing to pay for a large, famous place than there are fora small, obscure one. The present population of that place is often the key driver. ices of maps of th +The market for Middlesex could be worldwide ~ anybody who has lived in or loves London. The marker for Radnorshire is as minute as the county. The same can be said of the relative size ‘of the US and French markets, but it goes deeper than that, As inhabitants of a young country, XXXXXM INCOS ive tT pape vt. 3 Americans value their past very highly indeed, French people as a whole, ate less caring about their past, which results in fewer French map collectors and lower (relative) prices for French ‘maps, no matter how lovely or rare, Paris is, as, always, an exce + And finally, there are matters associated with the physical structure, dimer map, These can affect price either up or down, jon and format of the Size matters Prices a size, more decoration, more variety, and so on. Even, the presence of a coastline can increase the price slightly. Look at a Mercator map of an inland area vs one ofa coastal one, for example, The form looks quite boring. It will often be a rectangle of hundreds with hundreds of closely spaced villages, Also, ifthere is sea or a big lake, cartouches, heraldry, vignettes of people at work and play and so on will, {just prices upwards for maps with greater er often contribute to a higher price, This was a contemporaryFig. 4 Joticus Hondivs, ‘Nova Totus Terrarum Orbs Geographica Ac Hydcopraphicn Tabul’ COLLECTING FIRST STEPS 166 38 x 56:7 em. This ornate world ‘map in to hemispheres would attract competition fom potential pachaters outside the map cllectng cide. (HEK Collection MCR 540). issue as well, 50 in the case of some less immediately appealing areas, mapmakers often made a point of more decorative panels, sometimes all around the ‘map, more often on either side. You will find that prices ‘spike’ for these, even in the less interesting geographical areas. Consequently, the ‘normal premium’ applies most consistently to largish, coloured maps that look great framed on the wall of a home, hotel or office. In this case the collector is only one category of potential purchasers of that map. Some people who buy sich 2 ‘map buy only one in their lifetime. Some are interior designers. Some want an asset class that sits along thei other investments but want a class they can actually. show off and/or appreciate day to day. Because such maps are always the most saleable maps, they are the cones that hold that premium best. This is a premium, other than any derived from the history, craftsmanship, etc bebind the map. Too big? ‘As soon as a map becomes very large indeed, it can become a liability since it will not fit well in most homes. On the other hand, it could be exactly what an institution wants asa showpiece. To become truly, large, 2 map has got to be printed on several sheets. This increases likelihood of wear, as does the probability it has been used for display, unprotected, for a century or three. Little people may have had a go at crayoning on it, Individual sheets may be torn. or entirely lost, Both buyer and seller are taking a greater risk with such an item, Both need access to restoration and conservation skills. The premium does exist on these, and some are the most expensive maps that money can buy, but that premium can be very variable indeed. My largest map is a Durham by Charles Greenwood. Iti twice the size of a standard folio-sized map, and its production as a single page reflects the technological advances in nineteenth- century printing, Ie cost be me less than a good Dutch, seventeenth-century one, It is rolled up in a carton INCOS ive HT. pope. vt. 38IM@S MAP JOURNAL SEPTEMBER 2024 No.178 Fig. Folding map of ‘North Americ, and the West Indies: # new map, wbecin dhe Brith Empice and its Lis, according tothe Aetitve treaty of peace in 1763, are securely deseeb nd the dom joms possessed bythe Spaniards, the French, & other European, steer: the whole compiled from all the new surveys, and authentic memoir tht ave hitherts appeared’, London: Printed for Caringeon owes, (1762) Hand coloured, mousted om linn. 103 x 116 cm, fldedt0 20° 14 em, im cate 20 x 1 cm (Yee Cente for British Ar Paul Mellon Coleen), because framing it properly would cost more than the map did! Nore that not all large maps are what are referred to as wall maps. A wall map often has some ‘means of attachment fo a wall, even if now vestigial. Folding maps Folding maps attract a standard premium, As with wall maps particularly, the issue is that of fragility ‘This fragility has led to the survival of very few, even, ‘when we know the map was aimed ata wide audience in its day. Most readily available true folding maps come from the eighteenth century. The map was either folded into a smaller size allowing it to be inserted into a protective slipcase, or abit ater into 8 hard cover that it was physically attached to alzeady. ‘Whatever the case the paper had to be thinner, naturally, In the following century, the ‘concertina’ map emerged. As larger scales for mapping were embraced, starting in France and Britain, the need to handle the increased amount of information-rich paper led to the modern Ordnance Survey map Before it had been medieval social units that had been, recognised — counties, provinces, principalities, countries ete, Now an emerging mobile class wanted INCOS ive 17. pape. vind 36to know about a town they were visiting where they could take the waters, a region they were visting as recommended by some famous poet, and so on, This mixcure of historical contribution, fragility and the possibility of an interesting location support this premium. Attention to cities like Bath, Rome or Boston sharpens the uplift in price THE MAP ~- KNOWING WHAT YOU ARE BUYING Fakes ‘Asa general statement, it has never been worth faking any but the rarest and most valuable of maps. The new: collector will therefore rarely see a ‘erue fake’, never ‘ind purchase one! Such fakes could be even regarded as works of art in their own right. Th major University’s collection for years before exposure, What the new collector has to contend with, is deliberate misrepresentation, sincerely inaccurate representation, miscataloguing, and misunderstanding by an inexperienced vendor of what they actually have. Let's look at them one by one. Since this is one of the new collectors’ biggest worries, it needs quite a lot of unpacking. Traditionally, books on map collecting pass over potential problems rather fast. Authors from a dealer background do not want to tunsettle buyers, Some wish to maintain dependence fon themselves. Authors from a collecting or academic background are highly confident in their own abilities, so do not sufficiently consider the person starting their journey. Deliberate, indirect and inadvertent misrepresentation Misrepresentation can be innocent as well as ‘malicious, To me it does matter whether I am buying Tomaso Porcacchi map of the British Isles from 1572, or a late issue from the eighteenth century. Nonetheless, I see differing ways of describing that ‘map, as I search today for that same map as ff Twas a buyer. These differences clearly affect, at least to degree, how the vendors price their offering. In the first online offer, a top-level dealer uses 2 tactic of distraction by avoiding committing in writing to a date of printing but mentions the original geographer (whose work was published in 1546). [see a second dealer atthe same level, clearly state that they are selling a 1576 edition, whilst adding the COLLECTING FIRST STEPS geographer stuff as legitimate local colour. I happen to know that the latter has a worldwide reputation, but if did not, I would still veer towards his offering. now. My own copy is from 1686, but the price reflected that, so Lam happy. I probably cannot afford the first edition, but the 1576 one seems to have left 4 lot of surviving copies available in the twenty first century. I may get that too one day. However, it would be truly deliberate misrepresentation ifthe first vendor had the original book the map was in, knew the publication date printed at the front of the book, and marketed it as being a fist edition, knowing it ‘was not. The most likely situation is that the first dealer bought the map loose without context, and just does not know what edition it is from. With some ‘maps, visual clues are present as to edition and therefore likely year of production. Maybe the dealer could not find such clues ‘A third, mid-level, dealer’s website honestly says that his example comes from the Girolamo Porro edition ~same as my own — but leaves out the date of actual printing, This could be simply because he oF she does not know. Itis also impossible to tell between Porro reprints, without having the source atlas they ‘were cut out of, Personally, I think i's a bie naughey in this case to put down the dates of Porros' life rather than the dates of the various editions of his work the ‘map features in, Te implies that the map was printed in Porto’s lifetime (1520-1604). Maybe it was. Maybe it wasn't, In such cases it i best for the prospective purchaser to compare with all others that have a photo. of online, and an actual one if possible. My Porcacchii/ Porro cost four times less than the price than dealer number three is asking ~ and six times les than the offerings of the two top dealers, one of which is definitely from 1576 and the other probably alate one overpriced The cost of trusted suppliers [As you might guess, the interpretation of the above could depend a great deal on my relationship with the vendor, the past aecuracy oftheir research, the amount of time they go out of their way for me, ete, Wieh a ‘very rare map I might just beso glad to get it that I am. prepared to pay a premium, Maybe I wish to pay for that dealer's expertise, and their certificate of authentication is sufficient for me. I need to take into account my supplier's overheads as well. I bought my Porcacchi off somebody who supplies the dealers, 0 1 was higher up the trading chain, That business model involved turning around stock more rapidly than COS ive ATA. pope.vt.né 3?IM@S MAP JOURNAL SEPTEMBER 2024 No.178 somebody with a physical storefront. The reputable dealers who have moved to the internet have reduced their overheads and visibly are passing that saving on, ‘whilst increasing stock movement a win forall. I do however greatly miss the chat, the learning opportunities, the tips, and the gossip. A few have not really learnt, They have moved to the internet wholly fr in part; but see their competition as either purely. national or people at their same level, or past level. You and I can often ger che same from elsewhere in the world at prices 50 percent lower than their reduced prices! Even then, consider that they may have bought their stock ata time when dealer sold to dealer, inflating the market; making even that transaction which you regard as overpriced a loss for them, Inaccurate presentation ‘This is very common on eBay and even Catawiki Sometimes itis clearly haste, sometimes ignorance. ‘Most often the vendor is a general print dealer, for who maps are just a category of print. How can you Firstly, a reputable vendor will always provide you with further images of the map you enquire about. If you go crazy and want ten images of a very cheap _map, it is you who is the unreasonable one, and you can expect to be ignored, Just buy the thing and enjoy abit of detective work. IFthey are selling from a big, inventory (i.e. wanting repeat business), and the map is in the hundreds of pounds, dollars or euros, you have the right to expect more. Is ita stock photo, o isita photo ofthe very map they are offering for sale? (I download the photo before I buy and check after 1 ger what I have bought in the post) Do the photos show all four edges? Do they show the back of the ‘map? And what are you looking for anyway ~ just cheap, or value for money? Map edges, folds and margins Some maps were printed in a way that annoys the ‘modern mind, Benjamin Pitts Capper for instance put. two English county maps on the same page with almost no margin between them, This means that county map collectors end up with a map that has been guillotined; with only three margins and very hard to frame. ‘There was such a plethora of older maps around in the nineteenth century that many were treated unkindly. ‘Many bad theie margins ‘cropped! so that they would fr into smaller books as additions. This can make a large ‘map unframeable or completely undisplayable, Tears and creases reduce value and increase chances of fature damage, and limit display too. Sometimes the vendor, by concentrating on lots of derail photos of the map, is trying to point you away from antique graffiti, tears and margin damage as, above, but also damage to the map centre, The larger the map the more likely itis to have spent most of ies life folded, A later map could have been folded into 2 slipease and sold that way. Most folio sized maps were in folio sized atlases! But folio isthe size of the sheet with the book open. The map was given a paper ‘guard’ sewn into its crease, and then the guard was sewn into the binding. I worry if I see no sign of the folio sized map having been folded. Yes, there were single page issues, You are particularly likely to come across those by Jan Jansson of Amsterdam. However, these often got folded too, to be inserted in existing atlases, for easy reference, ete ‘The ‘Quarcermaster’s Map’ (1644) by Wenceslaus Hollar is called thus because it was reputedly used to quarter troops during the English Civil wars. We all expect that to be visible. I would be extremely, suspicious of a clean, tidy example, Some damage is therefore an authentication mark. Other damage ‘whilst reinforcing authensicity is diminishing value, sometimes sharply, ‘The verso Thave seen maps where I have been told it is a 1616 Hendricus Hondias, but when I check the back, called the ‘verso’, the language of the text is not from one of the various editions published that year. How can I tell? There are records of the languages used in each edition of a work, which can be found in various places, usually in what are known as carto~ bibliographies. The availability of these usually depends on the collecting popularity of the geographical area covered. Some are therefore by county, some by nation, some by world region, some of the world! There are thematic ones too, covering, a mapmaker, a type of map such as miniature or geological maps, or a period of years. Carto- bibliographies also reference things like plate variations and other visual clues, Sometimes, a bit of detective work is needed. ‘Those who collect British county maps are hindered by the fict that not every county has a detailed carto~ bibliography. However, that of an adjacent county can often make up for that loss, Those who collect maps found in my example — works by Hondius ~ need a complete list ofthe maps to start with. This will show INCOS ive 17. pape. vind 38them that many maps are regional, neither national nor by county or equivalent They will find the map. of Northumbria contains both Northumblerland and Darjam, so can locate the map in this instance in Harold Whitakers’ A Descriptive List of the Maps of Northumberland 1576-1900 (1949) ‘These are barely visible manufacturing marks inside the paper, usually best seen from the back of a map. ‘They are examined under the Paper section below. To create a serous fake today either old paper is used, or the old paper- making process i used, including Gking the original watermark style. The former works rather +00 well if one has an original plate to print from. Iris barely a fake in some eyes, but unsurprisingly such plates are rarer than the kinds of map they represent. I have a map of Cyprus that isa twentieth-century ‘pull’ from an original copperplate using an old printing press. I bought it cheaply as such. The modern paper is an absolute give away (also considered below).And how ‘many maps by that mapmaker of Cyprus can be sold anyway. 5, 10, 20? A potential forgery jail term for reventues of $2,000 maximum? Old paper would be also necessary in my hypothetical Cyprus forgery. This is usually harvested from the spare pages in dishound atlases ~ and unrelated old books of similar size, A forger would be destroying potential value in these to produce their knock-off Incidentally, if someone does have old paper and an original plate for an Ortelius world map, the more they make the less rare its, the lower prices would fall ~ and the more likely itis that someone would notice! That is why the big seams have always been very private. The scammer depends on buying fever, lack of scrutiny and a Gxation on ‘right ‘materials’ alone. ‘The skills and equipment needed to make a new copperplate ‘old’ are so substantial that itis not worth, COLLECTING FIRST STEPS considering in normal circumstances when you are deciding whether to by a top-end map of not. Old- style laid paper is easy to reproduce, Reproducing a ‘watermark is dificult, which is why such a technique is maintained in the production of currencies and security documents. Reproducing an ancient one is several orders more challenging, Suffice it 10 say at this point that the absence of watermark does aot mean a map is fake, but the presence of one (on old enough paper) is a good indicator of authenticity. Why would there be none? ‘The paper had been made at a larger size than that specific map, and then cut to size, with the watermark Deing missed Bleaching, browning and colour ‘These three typically affect the front of a map. “Browning is the result of a natural aging process and is nothing to do with foxing, Some like it because it makes the map look old, ike their mental image of | a pirate map! Its defect is that it makes paper brite. 1 ‘would want a discount for buying a really browned ‘map, a plan for protecting it, and a very serious reason for choosing that example over one that is not browned, Aswith foxing, browning is more and more common the younger the map, Sometimes a map has been bleached by a past owner or the dealer. Itlooks whiter than white. I have only one bleached map. It is on good paper and has survived what is in essence a harsh treatment. Many ‘would regard a bleached map as reduced in value However, it can save for posterity a very dirty example (one that incidentally would be uasaleable if not treated) Ifsomeone has had to bleach, they usually add modern colour too. Some purists will not touch 2 bleached map. Those seeking decorative function as Fig. 6x &b Petrus Betis, Reco and verso pages (ros his nature ass "Tabular Geopvphicrim Corti, 1618, 9.5 x 13.5 cm “The pages ate eased and bile COS ive 17h pape. vind 38IM@S MAP JOURNAL SEPTEMBER 2024 No.178 the primary issue are not bothered, They are priced: the same as unbleached, but the vendor often knows that will not work well ‘Modern colour is the colour added last Tuesday or last century. It is hopefully done using both pigments and technigues originally used. Its usually done with, ‘watercolours after ‘sizing’ the paper. Sizing is the act of sealing the pores of the paper to take the paint Otherwise, che paint will 'bleed’ away from where the painter has pur it. Be careful regarding the phrase ‘contemporary colouring’. Contemporary to who? ‘The late great RV Tooley joked that he regarded it as contemporary to himself rather chan contemporary, to the mapmaker! ‘Old colour’ usually means that it is Victorian, ‘which can be often muddy and inauthentic, but not always. ‘Original colour’ is what you want to see IF colour is what you are looking for. Technically a map is worth no more or less either way. The market does not agree, Coloured examples, including modern colour, always sell better. Modern colour certainly does not reduce value, unless particularly garish or ham-fisted. However, some collectors preter to be able to see the engraving in all its glory, without the intrusion of colour. It is also generally accepted that sixteenth-century maps were usually uncoloured, and that colour would also make the maps harder to read. Most of my own maps of the period are therefore tuncolouzed, but I do break the rule if see advantage. I's quite hard to move smaller sixteenth-century ‘maps without the magic of colour, s0 che colouring of these is very noticeably on the increase. I do have 4 Munster map in original bloc colour and do feel that the block or heavy wash can work IF the town names and other features ate not lost thereby. ‘Outline colour’ can mean the merest dab of some grungy brown or delightful picking out of key aspects ofa map. It can be a useless afterthought or define the map and style, The Robert Morden maps from Camden's Britannia are usually a great example of the latter. The maps of John Cary take the style on into the next century. Foxing ‘There is also the matter of ‘foxing’. This is a potentially destructive and visually unpleasant bloom fn the paper, usually asa result of damp. It can affect both sides of a map. The better the paper, the less likely foxing isto take hold. Ie is therefore far more common from the eighteenth century onwards, as ‘map producers started to manufacture more to a price point. (Not that this marketing approach did not exist beforehand. Eatlier you could buy a Prince level Blacw atlas on the best paper with a lot of gold leaf, a Gentleman's level coloured or uncoloured, or you could make up your own atlas from loose sheets and. left-overs, The difference is that they were incapable of making low grade paper) Colour for dating Colour can therefore be one ~ very rough ~ guide to both date and authenticity. The majority of sixteenth- century maps had no colour. Late sixteenth- and early seventeenth-ceneury maps often had what is termed ‘colour wash’, meaning total coverage ofan area like 4 principality, county or region. The 1607 English county maps by William Kip and William Hole from the earlier Britannia often have this kind of colour. ‘Then comes the period where both washes and outline colour are joined together, the high days of Dutch cartography, copied in England and France. As British cartography develops and eventually holds sway, outline colour becomes normative, The flowering of early eighteenth-century German map- ‘making will take us back to colour washes for a while, denser than before, By the rime itis the eurn of France and taly, colour isin decline, Meanwhile the concept of showing geographical features more accurately is taking hold in Briain, This ean obviously be assisted by use of colour — green for lowlands, brown for hills and mountains. Such conventions already existed but ‘were in practice done haphazardly or dispensed with entirely in fvour of some other kind of visual appeal. ‘With the more scientific use of hachure lines to show gradient, and contour lines, colour made a comeback in the geological maps of William ‘Strata’ Smith, the later work of John Carey and of Charles Smith. Christopher Greenwood’s 1831 maps, intended for display above the mantel in a country mansion needed colour too, usually blocked. After that, it was a rapid step to machine applied colour. Miscataloguing and misunderstanding ‘These often go together, one leading to the next. 1 very recently bought a map fom a highly reputable and committed to accuracy. The date given was far later than usual, and i was clear that the vendor regarded my purchase as having been published by the heirs of Jansson, rather than Jan Jansson himself. The problem here was the heirs did not release their reprint until ten years after the dealer had dated it. 1 never found out whether this was the result of INCOS ive 17 pape. vind 40A GLOBE IS A GLOBE IS A SQUARE somone miscopying from notes, oF perhaps just using, sevious owner's description, another catalogue. Framed maps given, | spat on eBay with a seller who was selling a ‘genuine Speed? of the British Isles in its frame for £300. It was atypical case of single photo. My requests for other photos were ignored. T + learly knew nothing about dates, she map or the mapmaker, The map had an added to the maps » which said, ‘John Speed’. That was enough for him, However, the paper was featureless. No sign of the slern title recent pressure ofa plate mark around the edges; no sign of the central fold that one would expect from a map of that larger size having been incorporated as part of an atlas, (Maps were not of «directly into the book at this time, but mounted with a paste ont paper ‘guards, the guards themselves then being attached to the binding ofthe atlas, thus protecting Saami the map itself) Old paper was made from rags and was buile up manually in a crisscross, which rough, almost three di Instead, paper supposed to be over 400 completely smooth, completely flat, never folded, quite thin ~ all marks of m paper. Unframed, the false provenance of the map. would have been shown up even more starkly Those who will not let you look at the map unframed are often hiding something. Yes, they may bbe concerned about putting it all back together til, ht tape, Ofte ‘trading addres! Incidentally, those intended as a fair facsim’ often slightly undersia will notice. Those designed to deceive, usually only of the more exper the right size Frames confuse inexperie dors, No dealer will take a frame into account when they buy. They rightly feel they must see the whole map including the back, so are going to de-frame it anyway. They also typically operate a ‘house style’ of framing, a style which some clients entirely buy into. Very few med map either. Both groups see it as a means of hiding things, when all is said and done. Personally, I do sometimes buy a map in its www.mostlymaps.com frame, I have bought from a local auction house that allows close inspection, and who I know would open, Telephone: +44 (0)1497 8205: it up if asked Rape eel ie Tel. 34.91.4113362 srs old was jern machine-made maps ‘but that is really just a matter of the what one finds is a modern print -d so that dealers and collectors ive maps, collectors will buy a IMCOS save 178 papee wi ne 41 sorones 1048