Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
CHAPTER EIGHT
WORLDS OF IMAGINATION
Government is a serious business but this does not mean that its records are dull and uninterest-
ing. On the contrary, the historical records of the British government preserved at The Nation-
al Archives are full of life and human interest. Throughout this topic we have featured maps
that embody and reflect the stories lying behind government recordkeeping and the events of
the past. Although government bodies have made, used and acquired maps for practical - and
sometimes deadly serious - reasons, this does not prevent many of our maps from displaying
the attractive, quirky or even humorous aspects of cartography.
In fact, all maps are exercises in human creativity. Since no map can record every detail of
the places that it depicts, cartographers must make creative choices, either consciously or un-
consciously selecting what to include and what to exclude. In this sense, every map combines
a world of observation with a world of imagination. The balance between the two varies from
mapmaker to mapmaker and from map to map. Whilst observation, measurement and accur-
acy are of ten paramount for official purposes, in other contexts, cartographers can allow their
imaginations to run more freely.
Perhaps the most obvious way that a map can reflect its maker's sense of creativity is by
combining practical information with an aesthetically-pleasing appearance. Some maps in-
clude distinct decorative elements, such as elaborate borders or fear some sea monster s; others
are simply examples of at tractive and well-balanced design. Although cartography is no ex-
ception to the rule that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, many of the maps included in this
topic are genuinely beautiful or visually striking.
Sometimes the exercise of creativity results in a map with an unusual format or physical
makeup. Usable objects incorporating maps into their designs - sometimes called cartofacts or
cartifacts (a portmanteau of cartographic and artefacts) - are the logical extreme of this idea.
In most of these cases, the function of the map element is aesthetic rather than practical. In-
stead of incorporating decoration, the map itself forms the decoration.
