2008-04-09
Cool maps that are past copyright...
This is a map of the British Commonwealth, along with pictograms of everything that the Commonwealth produces at the bottom. Nothing too shocking, except it is in French! The original version is made by the Foreign Ministry in English of course, but the fact they came out with it in French just cracks me up! We're so great and... oh yeah, you guys have a Guiana too...
This is a map by the cartographer Harrison. He had some absolutely incredible stuff back in the 1930s. This is a "View of Russia from the South." A colleague of mine gave me an atlas of Harrison's work. The proportional symbol map in particular is really incredible. If you click on the picture you should be able to zoom in. The colors are vibrant without overwhelming and his perspectives are just spectacular... though often times threatening!
The Nazi version of the Commonwealth map above. Slightly different coloring than the Brits have. I love this map. First of all, the yellow and black -- dangerous like a bumble bee. Second of all, the Germans include every colony -- past and present -- on the map, without differentiating by value or hue. The world look primarily British, even though it really was not. The islands glow like lightning bugs, don't they?!
I'm still not sure what to make of this map. It is obvious it is about how much foreign aid comes into Great Britain, but the numbers don't really add up. The read blood streaks across the evil black lines seem to symbolize a blockade of Great Britain, but again, the numbers don't make sense. Perhaps numbers aren't as important as the visual reminder that Britain can be, and will be, cut off from the world and defeated... at least according to the world of Adler and Karl Haushofer!
