I’ve been quiet recently, because I’ve been obsessively reworking the introduction to Maps: Concepts and Histories (the work in progress) and from there realigning the book content so that the whole points in the right direction to launch me properly into the target: chapter 8 on the anthropogenic map concept. But once that was done, and I got into chapter 8, I immed...

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TWO courses will be taught this summer at Rare Book School on maps and map history. Applications are now open!

(1) H-65 Material Foundations of Map History, 1450–1900 -- taught by Matthew Edney, in person, at the University of Virginia, 7–12 June 2026. This will be the fifth iteration of this course. For more informat...

I always have thought that the difference between “artifact” and “artefact” was one of English vs American spelling. I just can never remember which is which (given I’m thoroughly mid-Atlantic and confused). So, I checked (yet again) before writing the word yet again. In the process, I hit a bit of a quandary, just right for contemplation at New Year’s.

Specifically, I ...

For your information, the Osher Map Library and its amazing team were interviewed the other week by Jackie Northam, who boiled down 3 hours of interviews into a 6:30 segment on this morning’s Weekend Edition Sunday. It’s a very nice piece, augmented by my students in GEO 370, Maps, Power, Territory, and some wonderful online photos by Greta Rybus!