This week, a friend and I went to the New York Public Library’s exhibit Mapping New York’s Shoreline, 1609-2009. It’s a rare opportunity to see some truly spectacular 17th and 18th century maps made by Dutch and English cartographers and artists. They inspire a sense of wonder, both for their beautifully rendered decorative elements and their confident (and surprisingly successful) attempts to render an unfamiliar land. Intended largely to market these faraway lands to patrons and potential migrants, the boosterism is evident in many of the maps. My favorite was one of the British North American colonies from 1720 or so, which included an inset panel scene depicting a troupe of busy (and vaguely menacing) beavers felling trees…was it meant to suggest that there was a viable non-human labor force to be had?
Nova Belgica et Anglia Nova. Copper engraved, hand colored map by Willem Janszoon Blaeu. Amsterdam, 1635. NYPL, The Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division (Courtesy of The New York Public Library)
I was most taken with the early maps, but the exhibit includes a range of other maps, images, and artifacts about New York’s waterfront and maritime history, plus a video about the conservation process. These are a bit of a mish mash, but include a few real gems: I especially liked the still intact 1840 (!) fold-out map designed for tourists cruising up the Hudson river, and the punchy graphics on an illustrated tourist map of Long Island from the 1940s.
It’s open through June 26, 2010, and it’s free, so there’s plenty of time and no excuse not to stop by and check it out.
