© 2024 WLRN
MIAMI | SOUTH FLORIDA
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Take A Look At Old Maps Of Florida And The World

Luis Hernandez
/
WLRN

It may be fair to say many of us today will take out our phones or simply log into our GPS units in our cars and allow a soothing, distant voice to guide us to our destination. 

There was a time though when finding our way meant pulling over and unfolding a 4-by-5-foot map littered with white lines for roadways. Highways and freeways were either red or blue, and small drawings marked different points of interest. 

The reality is we may be seeing the end of paper maps. Future generations won't be able to go to something like the Miami International Map Fair and appreciate maps of our time, because our maps are digital.

Credit Luis Hernandez / WLRN
/
WLRN
Curtis Bird runs 'The Old Map Gallery' with his wife Alanna Bird in Denver Colorado

Curtis Bird has been in the antique map business for more than two decades. While talking with other collectors his two boys are not admiring the hundreds of maps being shown. Instead, they're focused on their tablets. But Bird isn't worried that the love of old maps is going to fade with younger generations.

And there were hundreds of maps, some hundreds of years old, a few worth tens of thousands of dollars. One of the most unique maps at the show could very well be one of St. Augustine Florida created in 1783. 

Credit Luis Hernandez / WLRN
/
WLRN
Map of St. Augustine showing the position of Fort Mose, that had a very different name and purpose in its earlier years. The map was created in 1783 by Tomás López de Vargas Machuca.

Robert Augustyn of the Martayan Lan Fine Antique Maps in New Yorksaid the fort played a significant role in helping free slaves from the South during the time Florida was under the control of Spain.

Augustyn1.mp3
Robert Augustyn said this one map of St. Augustine, Florida is also unique because the Spanish throne seldom published maps of their territories in order to make sure nations like Britain or France would know strategic points and bases.

Credit Luis Hernandez / WLRN
/
WLRN
Philip Curtis (right) works at the Map House in London. The shop was founded in 1907.

A map can be attained at an auction, or found in an attic, even other times it's a sale made between nations based on a promise.

That map is the MartinWaldseemuller map, one of the first maps of the (then) known world.

It's believed that there were 1,000 copies of it, but only one was found in the early 20th century. It currently resides at the Library of Congress. That was the only place that was allowed to have it under special conditions from the German government.

Curtis1.mp3
Philip Curtis of the Map House in London says there's one map he speculates could go for an unimaginable amount.

Credit Luis Hernandez / WLRN
/
WLRN
Daniel Crouch of Rare Books in London says there are times he runs into people who either don't know or are trying to sell bogus maps.

Daniel Crouch owns Daniel Crouch Rare Books in London. He brought Abraham Ortelius'TheatrumOrbisTerrarum atlas to share at the map fair. 

Crouch says the map business is cyclical too.

"This year people may want maps of China or from a specific period," Crouch says. "Twenty years ago I couldn't sell any Chinese maps but people wanted maps of Russia and Germany, especially after the fall of the Berlin Wall."

When purchasing maps, Crouch says he uses a gut feeling to know when something he's examining is real or fake.

Crouch1.mp3
Daniel Crouch shares a story from the map fair when someone tried to sell a map that wasn't completely authentic.

Credit Luis Hernandez / WLRN
/
WLRN
A lighter view of the Sunshine State
Credit Luis Hernandez / WLRN
/
WLRN
This map contained more than just the geography of a Brazilian village, it's also one of the first renderings of a plantation.

See more photos on Tumblr.

Luis Hernandez is an award-winning journalist and host whose career spans three decades in cities across the U.S. He’s the host of WLRN’s newest daily talk show, Sundial (Mon-Thu), and the news anchor every afternoon during All Things Considered.
More On This Topic