Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure
.
.
Minard's Tableau Graphique, showing the transportation of commercial goods along the
Canal du Centre (Chalon-Dijon). Intermediate stops are spaced by distance, and each bar is divided by
type of goods, so the area of each tile represents the cost of transport. Arrows show the direction of
transport. Source: ENPC:
/C
(Col. et cliché ENPC; used by permission)
sheaf ofwheat,withthe motto Aliis Exterendum -tootherstoflailthewheat.Making
graphs, it seemed, was too much like breadmaking.
1850-1900: The Golden Age of Statistical Graphics
1.2.5
By the mid-
s, all the conditions for the rapid growth of visualization had been
established - a 'perfect storm' for data graphics. O
cial state statistical o
ces were
established throughout Europe,inrecognition ofthe growingimportance ofnumeri-
cal information forsocial planning, industrialization, commerceand transportation.
Statistical theory, initiated by Gauss and Laplace and extended to the social realm by
Guerry and Quételet, provided the means to make sense of large bodies of data.
What started as the Age of Enthusiasm (Funkhouser,
;Palsky,
) for graph-
ics ended with what can be called the Golden Age, with unparalleled beauty and
many innovations in graphics and thematic cartography. So varied were these de-
velopments that it is di
cult to be comprehensive, but a few themes stand out.
