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THE TOPOGRAPHIC RECORD OF THE NETHERLANDS 1800-1992 FOR SALE
Jan Smits, Koninklijke Bibliotheek, Den Haag, The Netherlands

© The British Cartographic Society and author
© photographs: Koninklijke Bibliotheek

And you, my mountain,
Will you never walk toward me?
epigraph from Kevork Emin

(In: Anthology of Armenian poetry / Diana der Hovanessian and Marzbed Margossian. -- New York : Columbia University Press, 1978)

Introduction
1. History of the mapping of The Netherlands
2. Usage and demand for topographic maps up to 1985
3. Facsimile editions of cadastral and early topographic maps
4. Early facsimile editions of topographic maps produced by the TDN
5. Aspects of recent facsimile publishing
6. Recent facsimile editions of topographic maps and aerial photographs produced by/for the TDN
7. Final remarks

(large image: 245 Kb)

Photo 1. Series of topographical facsimiles

Abstract
Though the Netherlands have been mapped on large scales before 1800 the resulting maps never covered the whole country. Large-scale mapping really started after the beginning of the 19th century. The maps were meant for military use, though civilians always fancied them. Since 1970 all large-scale topographic mapping since 1800 has been made available to the general public in facsimiles or as atlases. The question is: How is it possible that these large scale facsimiles and atlases are sold by the hundreds of thousands in The Netherlands? Can it be that this is because the Netherlands is a densely populated country, because there is a cultural-historical hausse and because of the use of the right marketing techniques!
Anyway, with these atlases map-departments can easily fulfil their needs for basic topographic information, old and new. But the biggest advantages are the availability of toponymic indexes and the possibility to compare easily topographic situations chronologically.

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