Osher Map Library

An exhibition of 'cartifacts' and map memorabilia from the eighteenth century to the present, based in large part upon materials donated by Mr. Tony Naden.

15 June to 18 September 1999
Opening: 14 June 1999

For more information about the Osher Map Library, its open hours, directions, and group tours, please click on the compass rose at left.

The objects fall into three types. The first type are cartographic souvenirs marketed exclusively for the tourist trade. These are usually small utilitarian objects such as trivets, plates, ashtrays, T-shirts, and tea-towels and they commemorate the unique geographical features of a specific place. Such souvenirs are very portable; they can easily be tucked into a suitcase to be taken home and there put on display as a memento of fun times in exotic places. We include among these tourist maps a variety of products, such as paper placemats and napkins favored by family style restaurants advertising local tourist attractions. These maps are especially short-lived because they are used on the spot and are rarely taken home and preserved.

The second type of map collectible comprises household objects shaped like a world globe. The image of power and worldliness conveyed by the globe is transferred to everyday objects as pincushions, lamp bases, cigarette holders, and transistor radios.

Maps permeate our lives in ways that are often unacknowledged. The third type of map in this exhibition comprises maps that are utilitarian in purpose and non-standard in form. Map games and jig-saw puzzles have been used to educate children since the mid-1700s. In the twentieth century, map puzzles have become a common form of adult entertainment. Such maps vary from the hand-crafted (hand-colored maps pasted onto wood) to the mass-produced, die-cut cardboard and plastic puzzles of the present day. Another large sub-category are maps on stamps, which are works of art in their own right and convey historical and political messages.

All of the objects on display here are worthy of being collected. They preserve whole areas of popular and material culture that are otherwise quickly lost to historical view. Museums, libraries, and archives are usually not equipped to collect 'ephemera' so that we must rely on private collectors to preserve our popular heritage. No object, certainly no map object, is too humble or mundane. We would like to urge all potential collectors to take the first step of rescuing today's ephemeral objects to ensure their survival. The Osher Map Library is currently seeking representative examples of certain cartographic collectibles. For more detailed information, please speak with the curator.
  

image 1 (340kB) shows a number of globes and globe-like items.

image 2 (369kB) shows some educational games featuring maps and geography.

image 3 (418kB) shows a number of household items illustrated with maps.
  

These early puzzles were considered a luxury product costing as much as a pound, far more than an average weekly wage. However, they were an immediate success with upper class families who could afford the best education for their children.

By the late 19th century, puzzle costs declined as manufacturers adopted power scroll or band saws. By the 1920s, modern steel rule die-cut cardboard puzzles supplanted traditional hand-cut wooden ones. Lower production costs were reflected in falling puzzles prices, from a $5.00 pre-World War I cost to 25 cents by the 1930s, making this popular family pastime accessible to all.

Production of jigsaw puzzles began in the United States in the mid-nineteenth century and soared after the Civil War. The quarter century between 1860 and 1885 brought the arrival of the four biggest and longest-lived competitors in the game and puzzle business: McLoughlin Brothers (New York); Milton Bradley (Springfield, Mass.); Parker Brothers (Salem, Mass.); and Selchow & Richter (New York). McLoughlin Brothers, the oldest and most venerable of these companies, was bought out by Milton Bradley in 1920. During the corporate take-overs of the 1980s the remaining three family owned companies were subsequently bought by Hasbro (Pawtucket, R.I.), which now controls the bulk of non-electronic game manufacturing in the United States.

Among collectors, the games and puzzles produced with the process of color lithography are especially prized for the artistry and colorful designs of the gameboards and box covers. Three of the original four companies are represented here with competing puzzles of the United States.
  

To some extent, puzzles retain their original educational mission. Aimed at young children, these pictorial maps invite exploration with their colorful graphic imagery of places and products. In addition to learning about geography, puzzles help young children to develop the basic skills of coordination, color and pattern recognition, and spatial relationships.

Puzzles were originally intended only for children. The first adult puzzle emerged in Boston around 1906-07, some one-hundred and fifty years after its invention in England. Adult puzzles differ from children's in that they contain a far greater number of pieces, beginning at seventy five and increasing to hundreds and even thousands. Unlike children's puzzles, which have pictures designed specifically for the puzzle, adult puzzles rely on commercially available lithographs. Subjects are diverse and include reproductions from magazines or old prints and maps, as shown here.

A cautionary note: among true puzzle afficionados it is considered cheating to look at the image on the box before completing the puzzle.
  

These games can be considered twentieth-century re-incarnations of the older games displayed in the case. The influence of television is seen in Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? based on the successful children's progam by the same name. Linking a game with a TV production risks built-in obsolescence, since the public's interest is tied directly to the program. As with many other games, it is now also available on CD-ROM.
  

Thematic maps suppress general information in order to emphasize one or more selected phenomenon. Formerly called special purpose or applied maps, the range of subject matter which can be depicted is virtually unlimited. The maps shown here chart the distribution of breweries, wineries, and distilleries.
  

Maps have been used as graphic designs for postage stamps for over one hundred and fifty years. The theme is usually historical or political. Stamps chart the growth of empires and the subsequent boundary disputes resulting from territorial expansion. Economic advancement is often depicted by laying railroads, highways, airplanes or canals (such as the Panama Canal) over the geography of a region. Since stamps are issued by government agencies, reviewing a country's cartophilatelic output over a number of years can yield a fascinating social history of a country's official self-image. Aside from their political, historical and social significance, map stamps can be appreciated as miniature works of art in their own right.
  

We wish to thank Tony Naden, former owner of the Harvard Square Map Store, for donating his collection of map memorabilia to the Osher Map Library. We also wish to express our appreciation of the loan of 18th- and 19th-century puzzles and games from the collection of Professor Anne D. Williams, Bates College, and author of JigsawPuzzles. The professional assistance of Matthew Edney, George Carhart, and William Brown, the staffs of the Media and Community Relations and of the Publications and Marketing Departments of USM, and Jay York Affordable Photo is gratefully acknowleged, as is the technical assistance of Stuart Hunter and Daryl Morazzini.

The exhibition is enhanced by objects lent by the following: Erno Bonebakker; Matthew Edney; Siegfried Feller; Richard W. Gerry; Barbara Goodbody; Edward "Zip" Kellogg; Susan D. and Harry Konkel; Peggy L. and Harold L. Osher; Richard L. Pattenaude; Patricia Pietro; Stuart Hunter; and, Robert and Julia Walkling.