Saw this on a map
@stuartackland.bsky.social
From crazy cartouches, wonderful beasts or general carto-frippery, a site that highlights the non-map part of maps! From the Map team at the Bodleian Library
It's Penguin Appreciation day today, here's one of the earliest we can find on a map, from John Senex's 'South America corrected from the observations comunicated to the Royal Society’s of London & Paris', 1710. More on the map here blogs.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/maps/2019/02... @bodleian.ox.ac.uk
January 20, 2026 at 11:21 AM
It's Penguin Appreciation day today, here's one of the earliest we can find on a map, from John Senex's 'South America corrected from the observations comunicated to the Royal Society’s of London & Paris', 1710. More on the map here blogs.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/maps/2019/02... @bodleian.ox.ac.uk
In the natural history section of an 1849 atlas of natural phenomena, 'made with the co-operation of men eminent in the different departments of science', are wonderful pictures of animals of the old and new worlds, including an unusual 'perpendicular' map of wildlife habitat @bodleian.ox.ac.uk
January 20, 2026 at 9:09 AM
In the natural history section of an 1849 atlas of natural phenomena, 'made with the co-operation of men eminent in the different departments of science', are wonderful pictures of animals of the old and new worlds, including an unusual 'perpendicular' map of wildlife habitat @bodleian.ox.ac.uk
In a section in a 1639 Dutch navigational manual is a dial showing how to use a mariner's astrolabe to measure altitude at sea to find latitude. From the same volume this lovely diagram on the use of a back-staff to measure the sun's altitude @bodleian.ox.ac.uk
January 16, 2026 at 10:10 AM
In a section in a 1639 Dutch navigational manual is a dial showing how to use a mariner's astrolabe to measure altitude at sea to find latitude. From the same volume this lovely diagram on the use of a back-staff to measure the sun's altitude @bodleian.ox.ac.uk
A ploughing scene also appears on this 1941 map by the artist Eric Gill to mark the signing of the Atlantic Charter between Britain and the U.S. in 1941, with a quote from the Book of Isiah, 'They shall beat their swords into plowshares...' blogs.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/maps/2019/07... @bodleian.ox.ac.uk
January 12, 2026 at 12:09 PM
A ploughing scene also appears on this 1941 map by the artist Eric Gill to mark the signing of the Atlantic Charter between Britain and the U.S. in 1941, with a quote from the Book of Isiah, 'They shall beat their swords into plowshares...' blogs.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/maps/2019/07... @bodleian.ox.ac.uk
Today is Plough Monday, the first Monday after Epiphany, when agricultural labourers would start to plough the fields in preparation for sowing and planting crops. Hopefully the end result would be as beautiful as these fields, from a manuscript map of Hunsdon House, Herts, c1820 @bodleian.ox.ac.uk
January 12, 2026 at 10:31 AM
Today is Plough Monday, the first Monday after Epiphany, when agricultural labourers would start to plough the fields in preparation for sowing and planting crops. Hopefully the end result would be as beautiful as these fields, from a manuscript map of Hunsdon House, Herts, c1820 @bodleian.ox.ac.uk
Reposted by Saw this on a map
"Who is the man who appears unexpectedly in an OS map..?"
January 7, 2026 at 11:43 AM
"Who is the man who appears unexpectedly in an OS map..?"
Where better to live at this time of year than Christmas Common? One of many Christmas locations in the World this is the one nearest to us here at the Bodleian on a map. Christmas Island, in the Indian Ocean, is probably the most famous, first seen on Christmas Day, 1643 @bodleian.ox.ac.uk
December 23, 2025 at 9:59 AM
Where better to live at this time of year than Christmas Common? One of many Christmas locations in the World this is the one nearest to us here at the Bodleian on a map. Christmas Island, in the Indian Ocean, is probably the most famous, first seen on Christmas Day, 1643 @bodleian.ox.ac.uk
Today is International Mountain Day. Here are covers for Snowdon (1,085 metres), for a Soviet map of the Teberda region of the Caucasus mountains (over 4000 m in places) and of the Zermatt region of Switzerland with the Matterhorn, 4,478 m, on the cover. Happy climbing everyone. @bodleian.ox.ac.uk
December 11, 2025 at 9:37 AM
Today is International Mountain Day. Here are covers for Snowdon (1,085 metres), for a Soviet map of the Teberda region of the Caucasus mountains (over 4000 m in places) and of the Zermatt region of Switzerland with the Matterhorn, 4,478 m, on the cover. Happy climbing everyone. @bodleian.ox.ac.uk
A grim 'X marks the spot'. Wilson is Major Allan Wilson, who led a small unit of British South African soldiers in the 1st Matabele War. On the 3rd and 4th of December 1893 they came up against a much larger force of Matabele warriors along the Shangani River, in modern Zimbabwe. @bodleian.ox.ac.uk
December 2, 2025 at 9:39 AM
A grim 'X marks the spot'. Wilson is Major Allan Wilson, who led a small unit of British South African soldiers in the 1st Matabele War. On the 3rd and 4th of December 1893 they came up against a much larger force of Matabele warriors along the Shangani River, in modern Zimbabwe. @bodleian.ox.ac.uk
Here's an interesting variation on D.I.Y. From a map of Europe at the start of the War, 1914, an invitation from the Financial Times to fill in boundaries based on predicted peace terms. Offered at a time when 'it will be all over by Christmas' I wonder if anyone got even close? @bodleian.ox.ac.uk
November 28, 2025 at 10:11 AM
Here's an interesting variation on D.I.Y. From a map of Europe at the start of the War, 1914, an invitation from the Financial Times to fill in boundaries based on predicted peace terms. Offered at a time when 'it will be all over by Christmas' I wonder if anyone got even close? @bodleian.ox.ac.uk
Paul Helbronner was a French cartographer at the turn of the C19th and C20th century who specialized in maps of the Alps. He made a beautiful & long (over 620cm!) panoramic map of the view from Mont Blanc in 1921 and included his climb to the top, with his footprints in the snow @bodleian.ox.ac.uk
November 18, 2025 at 10:18 AM
Paul Helbronner was a French cartographer at the turn of the C19th and C20th century who specialized in maps of the Alps. He made a beautiful & long (over 620cm!) panoramic map of the view from Mont Blanc in 1921 and included his climb to the top, with his footprints in the snow @bodleian.ox.ac.uk
Lots going on in this picture from a Dutch sea atlas, 1676. Figures point cross-staffs to a sea-torch, symbolizing navigation, others measure maps and globes with compasses. A sailor holds a sounding weight to measure depths and a navigator a marine astrolabe to measure latitude @bodleian.ox.ac.uk
October 30, 2025 at 2:54 PM
Lots going on in this picture from a Dutch sea atlas, 1676. Figures point cross-staffs to a sea-torch, symbolizing navigation, others measure maps and globes with compasses. A sailor holds a sounding weight to measure depths and a navigator a marine astrolabe to measure latitude @bodleian.ox.ac.uk
Since the 1920s the Ordnance Survey have made maps of British historical periods, here are the covers for the 1st and 2nd editions of the Dark Ages map. The 2nd ed. features 'the first attempted reconstruction in colour' of the Sutton Hoo Saxon helmet @bodleian.ox.ac.uk @ordnancesurvey.bsky.social
October 28, 2025 at 10:26 AM
Since the 1920s the Ordnance Survey have made maps of British historical periods, here are the covers for the 1st and 2nd editions of the Dark Ages map. The 2nd ed. features 'the first attempted reconstruction in colour' of the Sutton Hoo Saxon helmet @bodleian.ox.ac.uk @ordnancesurvey.bsky.social
Cronos, Greek god of death and time (hence the scythe and hourglass) and Hercules (in one of his labours, capturing the multi-headed dog Cerberus) either side of an armillary sphere in a 1663 Blaeu atlas of Asia. On the next page Hercules opens a door onto the continent @bodleian.ox.ac.uk
October 24, 2025 at 8:27 AM
Cronos, Greek god of death and time (hence the scythe and hourglass) and Hercules (in one of his labours, capturing the multi-headed dog Cerberus) either side of an armillary sphere in a 1663 Blaeu atlas of Asia. On the next page Hercules opens a door onto the continent @bodleian.ox.ac.uk
'Close's fisherman's chart', c1922, has some beautifully poetic descriptions of fishing grounds and trawling sites, along with a timeline of U-Boats captured or destroyed in the channel during the First World War, including this piece about the activities of Skipper Tom Phillips @bodleian.ox.ac.uk
October 16, 2025 at 10:11 AM
'Close's fisherman's chart', c1922, has some beautifully poetic descriptions of fishing grounds and trawling sites, along with a timeline of U-Boats captured or destroyed in the channel during the First World War, including this piece about the activities of Skipper Tom Phillips @bodleian.ox.ac.uk
An exciting jousting scene in this map of Upper Saxony in 'Atlas Geographicus Major', by Johann Homann, 1759. The joust was hosted by Henry the Illustrious in 1263. Poet, composer, patron of the arts and warrior Henry is the perfect ideal of what a knight should be
@bodleian.ox.ac.uk
@bodleian.ox.ac.uk
October 14, 2025 at 1:02 PM
An exciting jousting scene in this map of Upper Saxony in 'Atlas Geographicus Major', by Johann Homann, 1759. The joust was hosted by Henry the Illustrious in 1263. Poet, composer, patron of the arts and warrior Henry is the perfect ideal of what a knight should be
@bodleian.ox.ac.uk
@bodleian.ox.ac.uk
Bartomeu Olives 1575 portolan nautical chart of the Mediterranean includes a lovely elephant and the Red Sea (in red, obvs). Included is the parting of the sea created by God for Moses and the Israelites to cross, fleeing from the Egyptians, as stated in Exodus chapter 14. @bodleian.ox.ac.uk
October 7, 2025 at 11:28 AM
Bartomeu Olives 1575 portolan nautical chart of the Mediterranean includes a lovely elephant and the Red Sea (in red, obvs). Included is the parting of the sea created by God for Moses and the Israelites to cross, fleeing from the Egyptians, as stated in Exodus chapter 14. @bodleian.ox.ac.uk
Herman Moll's 1724 '...maps of England and Wales' are a set of county maps, and standard for the time. What sets the maps apart from others are the illustrations, be they wonderfully named caverns in the Peak District, ancient monuments or a confused approach to old fossils @bodleian.ox.ac.uk
October 6, 2025 at 11:31 AM
Herman Moll's 1724 '...maps of England and Wales' are a set of county maps, and standard for the time. What sets the maps apart from others are the illustrations, be they wonderfully named caverns in the Peak District, ancient monuments or a confused approach to old fossils @bodleian.ox.ac.uk
Olaus Magnus's 1539 map of Scandinavia is full of the wonderful and the plain weird. Sea monsters and maelstroms attack ships while on land people travel in reindeer-drawn carriages and fish through the ice. The map was the first to accurately depict land and give place-names. @bodleian.ox.ac.uk
September 29, 2025 at 8:40 AM
Olaus Magnus's 1539 map of Scandinavia is full of the wonderful and the plain weird. Sea monsters and maelstroms attack ships while on land people travel in reindeer-drawn carriages and fish through the ice. The map was the first to accurately depict land and give place-names. @bodleian.ox.ac.uk
The first public railway was built 200 yrs ago this month, the Stockton and Darlington. Here's some earlier steam engines from railways maps. The Grand Junction from 1839 and the two engines images from 1845. With railways came a whole new type of cartography, the railway map
@bodleian.ox.ac.uk
@bodleian.ox.ac.uk
September 25, 2025 at 8:19 AM
The first public railway was built 200 yrs ago this month, the Stockton and Darlington. Here's some earlier steam engines from railways maps. The Grand Junction from 1839 and the two engines images from 1845. With railways came a whole new type of cartography, the railway map
@bodleian.ox.ac.uk
@bodleian.ox.ac.uk
The Great Fire of London started OTD 1666, destroying large parts of the city. Two images, the first from a 1669 survey of the fire by John Leake and others, the second from a beautiful 'Balloon view of London' from 1859, of the monument to mark the fire, completed in 1677 @bodleian.ox.ac.uk
September 2, 2025 at 2:41 PM
The Great Fire of London started OTD 1666, destroying large parts of the city. Two images, the first from a 1669 survey of the fire by John Leake and others, the second from a beautiful 'Balloon view of London' from 1859, of the monument to mark the fire, completed in 1677 @bodleian.ox.ac.uk
In-house Ordnance Survey artist Ellis Martin (see a few posts below) often featured his wife Mabel on his map covers, almost always in the pose that can be seen on this map catalogue from 1923 and on the cover of a map of the country round London
@ordnancesurvey.bsky.social @bodleian.ox.ac.uk
@ordnancesurvey.bsky.social @bodleian.ox.ac.uk
September 1, 2025 at 9:44 AM
In-house Ordnance Survey artist Ellis Martin (see a few posts below) often featured his wife Mabel on his map covers, almost always in the pose that can be seen on this map catalogue from 1923 and on the cover of a map of the country round London
@ordnancesurvey.bsky.social @bodleian.ox.ac.uk
@ordnancesurvey.bsky.social @bodleian.ox.ac.uk
More of a case of no longer seen on a map. The volcanic island of Krakatoa exploded in late August 1883, killing over 36,000 people and sending shock waves around the World. Here are 2 admiralty charts from before and after showing the change in landscape caused by the eruption, @bodleian.ox.ac.uk
August 28, 2025 at 8:44 AM
More of a case of no longer seen on a map. The volcanic island of Krakatoa exploded in late August 1883, killing over 36,000 people and sending shock waves around the World. Here are 2 admiralty charts from before and after showing the change in landscape caused by the eruption, @bodleian.ox.ac.uk
John Thorntons late portolan (1682) of the Indian Ocean is a thing of beauty, gold bling on the compass rose and selected islands, and an early mention for Australia. All held together with very old hinges. See the whole chart here digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/5c9b... @bodleian.ox.ac.uk
August 11, 2025 at 8:39 AM
John Thorntons late portolan (1682) of the Indian Ocean is a thing of beauty, gold bling on the compass rose and selected islands, and an early mention for Australia. All held together with very old hinges. See the whole chart here digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/5c9b... @bodleian.ox.ac.uk
Latest fashions for the dapper male and female Dublin cyclist. Adverts for clothes to be had from Arnott & Company, 11-15 Henry Street, Dublin, on the reverse of a 45 mile radius cycling and touring Dublin district map circa 1896. Arnott's opened in 1843 and is still there today @bodleian.ox.ac.uk
August 6, 2025 at 3:16 PM
Latest fashions for the dapper male and female Dublin cyclist. Adverts for clothes to be had from Arnott & Company, 11-15 Henry Street, Dublin, on the reverse of a 45 mile radius cycling and touring Dublin district map circa 1896. Arnott's opened in 1843 and is still there today @bodleian.ox.ac.uk