Cartography

For many centuries maps were produced entirely by hand. They were drawn or painted on paper, hide, parchment, clay tablets, and slabs of wood, among other things. Each map was an original work; the content may have been copied, but each map was executed by hand.

Once printing techniques were developed, many reproductions could be made from one original map. Chinese printmakers were producing maps on handmade paper using wood block printing techniques over 1,800 years ago. The Europeans developed the printing press and movable type in the 1400s, and maps became more common and more accessible. The paper they were printed on was still handmade, however, and any colored areas on the map had to be painted by hand.

The introduction of the lithographic printing method in the late 1800s allowed multi-colored maps to be produced by machine. Various photographic techniques were integrated into the printing process during the last 200 years, increasing the variety of scales at which maps were produced. Despite these production advances, each original map was still drawn by cartographers, using technical pens, various lettering devices, straight edges and razor knives, the traditional tools of the trade.

During the last two decades, however, the cartographer has acquired another production tool, the computer. Advanced computer-assisted design programs allow cartographers to set aside their technical pens and their straight edges. They use the computer to conjure and produce map images, but computer programs cannot replace cartographers. The various techniques for cartographic expression involve a sense of craft and artistry that has not yet been duplicated by electronic means.