Antique and vintage maps, sea charts, town plans, atlases and globes.
Antique maps join history, art and geography. A sixteenth-century map of the world or an
eighteenth-century plan of a city shows how people saw the world, and fine examples are works of art
in their own right. Their value depends on rarity, condition and, above all, colour.
Getting Started
Many collectors choose a region (their home country or city), a cartographer or workshop such as
Ortelius, Mercator, Blaeu or Homann, or a theme such as sea charts or celestial maps. Single atlas
sheets are affordable; complete atlases are rare and costly.
What to Record
Title, cartographer and engraver, and the publisher.
Date: of the plate and of the edition the sheet comes from - the same plate was often printed
for decades.
Area shown and scale.
Printing technique: woodcut, copperplate engraving, steel engraving or lithograph.
Colouring: uncoloured, original hand colour, or later colour. Original colour is a key factor
for value and must be stated honestly.
Source: the atlas or book the map was published in, and the text on the back, which helps to
date the edition.
References: standard bibliographies such as Shirley for world maps, Burden for North America
and Van der Krogt (Koeman’s Atlantes Neerlandici) for Dutch atlases.
Dimensions of the plate mark and the sheet.
Condition
Note centrefold splits, tears, repairs, trimmed margins, browning, foxing and worming. Full margins
and a strong impression add value.
Care and Storage
Store maps flat in acid-free folders or solander boxes. Framed maps need acid-free mounts and
UV-filtering glass, away from direct light. Never fold maps that were not issued folded.
Mistakes to Avoid
Buying a modern facsimile or a later reprint as an original - check paper, plate marks and printing.
Accepting “hand coloured” without asking whether the colour is original.
Mounting a map with tape or glue.
The Data Sheet for Maps & Atlases
The 28 fields worth recording for maps & atlases, grouped as in the
ordicio app.
Identification
Map type Choice, or your own
Kind of cartographic item.
Map
Sea chart
Town plan / view
Celestial chart
Atlas
Globe
Road / strip map
Title Text
The title or name the object is known by, as given by its maker, publisher or catalogue.
Cartographer Text
Mapmaker, e.g. Ortelius, Blaeu, Homann, Mercator.
Engraver / publisher Text
Engraver and publisher if different from the cartographer.
Year published Text
Year of publication as printed or established, e.g. 1925, [1925], n.d. (c. 1890).
Area shown Text
Region shown, e.g. Northern Germany, the world in two hemispheres.
Scale Text
Scale as printed or calculated, e.g. 1:250,000, about 25 German miles.
Language Text
Language of the text.
Reference Text
Standard reference number, e.g. Shirley 158, Burden 29, Van der Krogt 1000:1A.
Production
Printing technique Choice, or your own
How the map was printed.
Woodcut
Copperplate engraving
Steel engraving
Lithograph
Chromolithograph
Wax engraving
Offset print
Manuscript (hand-drawn)
Colouring Choice
Whether and how the map is coloured; original colour is applied at the time of publication.
Original hand colour
Later hand colour
Printed colour
Uncoloured
Source Text
Atlas or book the map comes from, with edition, e.g. Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, Latin text edition 1595.
Measurements
Height (cm) Number
Height, measured upright as the object is meant to stand or hang.
Width (cm) Number
Width, measured from the front.
Condition
Condition Choice
Overall condition in plain terms; domains with an established grading scale use that scale instead.
Mint / as new
Excellent
Very good
Good
Fair
Poor
Condition notes Text
Faults, wear and damage in detail.
Restoration & repairs Text
Restorations, repairs, replaced parts and cleaning, with who did them and when if known.
Acquisition
How and when the object came into the collection.
Acquisition date Date
Date the object came into the collection.
Acquisition method Choice, or your own
How the object came into the collection.
Purchase
Auction
Gift
Inheritance
Exchange / trade
Self-collected / found
Commission
Acquired from Text
Seller, auction house (with sale and lot number), donor or place where it was found.
Purchase price Amount
Price paid including fees and premiums.
Provenance Text
Earlier owners and the object's history, oldest first, with sources (labels, invoices, sale catalogues).
Value
Estimated and insured value.
Estimated value Amount
Current market value as estimated.
Valuation date Date
Date of the current value estimate.
Valuation basis Choice
What the estimated value is based on.
Own estimate
Recent sales / auction results
Dealer offer
Catalogue value
Professional appraisal
Insurance valuation
Insured value Amount
Sum the object is insured for.
Collection record
Your own inventory data.
Inventory number Text
Your own number or label for the object, e.g. C-0042, as written on its label or album page.
Storage location Text
Where the object is kept, e.g. room, cabinet, drawer, album and page, box.
Standards and References
The data sheets follow the standards collectors, dealers and museums use:
ILAB / ABAA glossary and the AB Bookman's Weekly condition terms (As new, Fine, Very good, Good, Fair, Poor)
Bibliographic format terms (folio, quarto 4to, octavo 8vo, duodecimo 12mo ...)
ISBN / OCLC WorldCat identifiers; Ahearn and other first-edition points guides
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