Marking time James Holloway

Explores how the passage of time is revealed in maps through the ages

Time in Maps

From the Age of Discovery to Our Digital Era

Kären Wigen & Caroline Winterer eds

University of Chicago Press 2020

Hb, 231pp, £34, ISBN 9780226178590

Although we tend to think of maps as a way of representing space, we actually use them for much more, including the depiction of time. In Time in Maps, Kären Wigen and Caroline Winterer collect nine papers that look at different ways in which cartographers and others have tried to use maps to depict history and prehistory.

In the book’s first section William I Ranking argues that modern maps can represent change over time effectively. The next two papers focus on maps from early modern Asia: Kären Wigen discusses the ways in which historical mapmaking in Japan played an important role in statecraft, as well as addressing local topics and addressing current events, while Richard A Pegg talks about the role of mapmaking concepts introduced into China by Jesuits in the 16th century. The indirect influence of these Jesuit maps can be seen in maps from the Qing dynasty of the 18th century; via Qing influence, these ideas also spread to Korea.

In the second section, Barbara E Mundy explores the historical maps of post-conquest Mexico; created by indigenous mapmakers, these maps recalled earlier constructs of time and space that focused on meaning, not topography. Veronica Della Dora’s paper discusses the common image in Baroque cartography of the veil – images of the figure of Time lifting a veil to reveal the map were common in maps and illustrations from the early modern Netherlands as well as from Venice. Finally, Daniel Rosenberg discusses an unconventional kind of map – the linguistic diagrams of 17thcentury scholar John Wilkins, who attempted to chart the structure of English.

Caroline Winterer’s paper addresses attempts by mapmakers, psychologists and artists to grapple with the new ideas of “deep time” gaining currency in the 19th century. In the United States, new ideas about the age of the Earth interacted with Americans’ sense of themselves as a young nation, producing a fascination with the age of the American landscape. Susan Schulten charts the development of time-mapping in the United States, which changed over the 19th century, reflecting changing American views of the nation’s history.

Finally, James R Akerman looks at battlefield maps and battlefield tourism, and in particular at the ways in which battlefield maps have changed over time to reflect changes in the way travellers interact with the sites they depict.

Time in Maps is a fascinating look at some of the many ways in which humans have tried to depict the passage of time in cartographic form. The handsome hardback is illustrated throughout with colour images of historical maps. As the product of an academic conference, it might be a little too specialised for the casual map enthusiast, but for those fascinated by the history and modern implications of map-making, it’s rewarding reading.

★★★★