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on the evolution of font in maps and its impact on their aesthetic value. He
says that the western civilisation experienced two basic transitions in using
font in maps. Approximately from 1500 there is a clear dominance of
manually written description in maps, then the development of reproduc-
tion techniques leads to gradual take-over of manually carved description
(woodcut, copper engraving, lithography, etc.), and after 1800 there is
more frequent use of typographic font, which is crucial nowadays. It is ob-
vious that these changes had impact on the overall graphical aspect of the
map and the aesthetic value of early maps. D. Woodward provides a num-
ber of examples that prove similar evolution as in the case of colours: first
decline in originality due to the shift away from handwritten maps and
lately richness thanks to a significant increase of types of font.
Evolution of map language, colour and description in early maps does not
necessarily have to be followed throughout a long period of time - one car-
tographic work suffices. This is proven by the evolution of the prints of
Criginger's map of Bohemia (1570-1585) -
Figure 10
. This, of course,
has impact on changes in the aesthetic effect of such a map (Bláha 2003).
