Tag Archives: Cartography

Occupation Cartography

Posted on January 27, 2026 by Brian D. Butler

Over the last year or two I’ve seen many social media posts about “occupying powers” and accusations about nations or peoples being “colonizers”. I’ve been thinking that maps may help clarify some of the confusion.    

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Inventio Fortunata (unrelated to Harry Potter)

Posted on January 21, 2026 by Brian D. Butler

With constant coverage of Greenland in recent news cycles, the infamous Mercator projection has come under fire anew for distorting the real shape of the world’s continents — objects closer to the poles appear larger than they should. That results in … Continue reading →

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How well do you know geography

Posted on December 15, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

When I was just a nerdy little kid, my friends and I would play a simple game the we called “Geography”. It entailed a player naming a country and the next player challenged to name another nation starting with the … Continue reading →

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Too Many Rivers To Cross

Posted on December 1, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

Possibly inspired by All Streets, Ben Fry’s map of all the streets in the US, Nelson Minar built a US map out of all the rivers in the country.  

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Everybody thinks the world revolves around them

Posted on October 10, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

A 17th-century, Safavid brass, Mecca-Centered World Map, from Persia. The circular brass base plate with centrally-pivoted rotating brass diametrical rule fixed with removable pin, a glazed circular recess for compass to lower part, the base plate finely engraved and chased … Continue reading →

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Equal Earth

Posted on October 9, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

Most of us were educated to believe in a wildly inaccurate world map. Odds are that you have accepted the standard Mercator projection as the actual map of the world. But it’s completely misleading, making Africa look about the same … Continue reading →

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Travelers still need (and love) maps

Posted on September 19, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

It’s been years since I visited the tiny state of Rhode Island, but the next time that I go I will definitely make time for the Map Center. Cartographer Andrew Middleton took over the 70 year old shop two years ago … Continue reading →

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The world in verse

Posted on August 13, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

Every city, every forest, mountain, and every river has its own poem waiting to be discovered. You can uncover that geographic poetry on the MultiVerse – an interactive map where a single click anywhere in the world generates a unique … Continue reading →

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Where in the world is the Republiko of Zendia

Posted on August 7, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

How do you find a republic that never existed ? During the 1950s Cold War, U.S Army cryptologist Lambros D. Callimahos created the mythical  “Republiko of Zendia” to use in wargaming for U.S. military intelligence codebreakers simulating the invasion of … Continue reading →

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the first cut is the deepest

Posted on July 21, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

The impressive artwork of Joanathan Bessaci includes maps cut out and layered to form images. I presently work with old Michelin maps dated from roughly 1920 to 1970. I use old French Michelin maps because I like their color and texture but … Continue reading →

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