National Representatives

Council and Committee

Cartographic Links

Number 7 Cataloguing map collections Compiled by Hans Kok

A. General

Owning a map collection is fun; of course you will be taking good care of your maps! To you as a collector, your maps may have no more secrets (although I doubt it), but to anybody else your collection may just be an unorganized pile of paper sheets. Chances are that when the number of maps increases over time, even you may get mixed up:
•   Do I own this one already or did I only look at it several times
     elsewhere?
•   Do I have the third or the fourth state?
•   Do I have this one in original colour or the newly coloured version?
•   In which drawer do I keep this map I am looking for?
•   In which book in my library did they discuss the map, its maker and
    provenance?
•   To say nothing of worries creeping up with increasing age: how will
     my wife/children/nephew .. . ever find their way in my collection?
     Will they recognize how special this one map really is?

In order to provide access to the collection, you would need to properly catalogue it. Ultimately, in combination with illustrations showing each map and a database type sorting system (Excel spreadsheet or Access database will do nicely) with multiple parameter input, an ideal means to access the collection would become available, of good use to everybody delving into it. Also, this would go a long way into establish­ing the value of the collection by or for third parties. Top

B. Universal problem

As the problem is universal and even more of a problem to large collections in librar­ies and museums, cataloguing is best done in accordance with international standard rules.
IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations) has prepared an Interna­tional Standard Book Description for Cartographic Material (ISBD [CM]) which, using information as described on the map proper, has proven very useful for this purpose.
The system is configured such that even foreigners, not fluent in the English lan­guage, can understand the data provided from the strictly standardized input fields. These input fields are prescribed in terms of sequence, spelling and punctuation. All information used, when not mentioned directly on the map, is considered secondary information and identified as such by placing it between square brackets [...]. Top

C. Cartobibliography versus catalogue

There is a basic distinction between preparing the description for a cartobibliography and a description of the maps in a collection, the latter being called a catalogue.

Where the cartobibliography contains elements applicable to all maps of a kind with­out exception (in order to facilitate identification of the map), a catalogue may also show elements applicable only to the specific map in question (like colouring, manu­script notes, condition or damage). Arranging the descriptive elements in a strict sequence and formal will greatly improve access and provide the capability to compare map descriptions.

For the private collector not all elements of the international code may be equally im­portant; it is however recommended to stick to the ISBDfCM] where convenient. Top

D. Elements to be addressed

•   Title of the description; item number, cartographer, [attributed cartographer], [anonymous], date, [attributed date], place of manufacture.
•   Title of the map: the part of a map's inscription, specifying the subject, mainly referring to its geographical area (e.g. "Map of the British Isles and Ireland") and relevant additions thereto, including a Latin expansion of the title.
•   Subtitle or further texts like dedications, commentaries, artist signatures or imprints.
•   Description of the borders including numbering and graduation and description and location of scale and scale bars (if any).
•   Physical properties like number of sheets, dimensions (height x width in inches or centimetres of plate marks or printed image) printing technique (woodcut, copper engraving, steel engraving, litho, etc.) and colouring (black and white, original colour, wash colour, outline colour, new colour, original colour/touched-up, re-margined, centreline fold split/restored, worm holes, any restorations affecting the printed area, like border redrawn, etc.).
•   Scale, as mentioned on the map or calculated from known distances, round ed-off.
•   Plate states: as derived from collector's knowledge or bona fide literature, which may not necessarily be complete or correct.
•   Provenance: from which atlas, collection, dealer or otherwise.
•   Price: when it is to be mentioned, preferably converted from foreign currency to local currency at the time of purchase. Maybe coded or accessible only from computer with password.
•   Location: where stored in the collector's system (administration number and physical storage like: drawer 3b) and when applicable, storage of photograph, slide or scan. Mention may also be made of  some museums or libraries where copies of the map concerned can be found.
•   Literature: reference to basic bibliography, special bibliography or general reference books, identified by author, year of publication and page or item number in the book. Top

E. Final commentary Points

It may be of interest to mention specific points of interest about the map or about its historic context.

This might include illustrating the change from one state to the next (e.g. "Fort Casimir is shown on the river"), a reference to conditions under which the map was acquired ("bought during holiday in Cairo in 1977") or a more academic report of the map's impact or origin or interrelation with other maps, either national or international. Top

F. Preface and introduction

It is good practice to add a preface and introduction to the catalogue where assistance received ("Latin text translated by ...", excellent assistance provided by ..., curator of maps in .,.), may be acknowledged. An outline may be given on how the collector got into map collecting and how the subject of the collection evolved over the years, etc., etc. Such a preface and introduction may comprise quite a number of pages and serves the purpose of putting both the collection and the collector into perspective. It also allows an explanation of some basics of the catalogue, e.g. how the dimensions have been measured (plate mark or image, widest, smallest or average dimension, reference for condition, etc.).

Preparing the catalogue will be both time-consuming and rewarding; publishing it will be cumbersome and expensive as the number of catalogues will be restricted by nature of it being a private collection. In the age of the computer, desktop publishing is a definite possibility, also allowing the insertion of images via scans or digital pho­tographs for better visualization, thus greatly enhancing the attractiveness of the catalogue. Another distinct possibility is to provide a CD to go with the catalogue or instead of the catalogue.

A data base set-up will allow retrieving maps based on various parameters; e.g. it would be­come possible to retrieve all maps from the same year or period, from the same cartographer, from the same dealer where maps were bought, from the same country, from the same atlas, stored in the same drawer, and many options more; options to be determined by you. Of course, nothing can be retrieved this way unless the input data were supplied for these parameters initially. Most modem computers will be capable of providing CDs as output medium. I would suggest keeping a hard copy and a CD in a safe place (bank vault) and to back-up computer data regularly. For on-going collections, consideration should be given to allotting a page to each map and a loose-leaf binder, as this would greatly facilitate updating the catalogue when new maps are obtained or map descriptions need to be modi­fied in the light of new information. Whether the collection should be subdivided into chapters of similar maps beforehand or remain without subdirectories depends entirely on the collector's preference and the number of available input-parameters.

An example of a fictitious description of a fictitious map, follows below; its lay-out does not conform to ISBD[CM], but reflects a system, which may be better suited to the private collector, but it still needs to be applied in a consistent way throughout the collection catalogue. It is particularly effective in combination with a colour illustra­tion.