Map Collecting Practices - Advances in Cartography and GIScience - page 143

places. Maps are sought from general second-hand book dealers, at auc-
tion, from car boot sales, charity shops, jumble sales and from other collec-
tors. A relatively small community of collectors swap arcane detail about
their collecting interests or request mapping via the specialist e-mail list
[e-mail]. Deals matter less than knowledge.
Everyday collecting space appears much less regulated than antiquarian
collecting. Few edicts for new collectors are published. Instead it is
assumed that they will progress through love of their collecting to appreciate
the importance of a serious concern with the history of the artefact.
6.3 Serious history?
Just as the rhetoric of antiquarian collectors emphasizes that taste pre-
dominates over money, so the everyday urge for completion is hidden in a
rather different rhetoric. Everyday collectors mask their systematic obses-
sions in the dressing of historical study. Proudly displayed on the CCS
web site until a recent reworking was a quote from the early constitution of
the Society, which welcomes potential members with the statement that
' although the role of serious study in the Society's activities is emphasised,
do not be put off by this if your concern is of a more relaxed nature - the
curiosity of the casual collector is most welcome for it often prompts the
unanswerable question for someone to work on . (Charles Close Society
2010). The Society now has over 400 members, and the majority of these
are probably 'casual collectors', rather than being concerned with 'serious
study'. However a surprisingly large number participate by writing for the
society newsletter Sheetlines : the 88 issues published up to 2010 include
significant contributions from around 130 different members.
The serious work of advancing historical knowledge is also reflected in
social activities. At first glance CCS programmes seem similar to antiquarian
map collecting society activities. CCS members hold meetings, organise
visits, publish a newsletter and operate an Annual Map Market. However
visits are much more serious and practical than the cultural frippery of
IMCoS. Regional groups meet to swap maps, share stories of research and
visit institutions. Activities also differ. Show and tell sessions also feature
in regularly held map markets, but these are very different from IMCoS
presentations. They are much less about individual treasures, 'discovery'
and possession. Instead they emphasize recounting progress of 'work'. A
CCS Map Market is a commercial space, where exchange of material