The Map Room

An interesting story on the website of Chicago-area antique map store George Ritzlin Antique Maps and Prints: “The most unusual map we’ve ever encountered recently walked (literally) into our gallery. A nice young woman mentioned in the course of conversation that she loved maps so much that she had one tattooed on her foot. It’s a map of the Chicago Transit Authority elevated system. She is a frequent user of the El lines and finds the map to be handy. She has even used it to give directions.”

Thanks to Dennis McClendon for the link.

Previously: Map Tattoos.

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review covers the opening this weekend of Shaw Galleries, which deals in antique maps and prints. (Its owner is Kurt Shaw, the art critic for the Tribune-Review. Small world.) Via GeoCarta.

I’m always sorry to hear when a map store closes; Wisconsin’s U.S./Canadian Map Service is closing after a quarter-century of operation; WLUK-TV reports. Owner Alice Woelffer says that sales dried up over the past five years due to the proliferation of GPS navigation devices. Via GeoCarta.

Customers of a store that sells “antiquities, notable books and rare maps” have apparently been getting a bit out of line, the Wisconsin State Journal reports. The store’s proprietor, John Taylor, ended up posting a note, Martin Luther style, to his front door: “Handle the books, papers and tools gently. … You’re quite lucky to have this opportunity to experience authenticity. So excuse my admonishment while you break the back of a $5,000 atlas.” I’m actually amazed he lets them handle anything of that value. Via MapHist (thanks Tony).

A map store in Tampa Bay declared bankruptcy; MAPSource, the last map store in the area, closed its three stores and printing plant. The owner cited “a definite malaise in the map industry as a whole” and the rise of Internet and GPS mapping. But according to the article, MAPSource’s focus was on “maps for service industries, utility companies and government entities,” which unless I’m mistaken would be facing pressures other than retail or consumer trends. Enlighten me if I’m wrong. Via All Points Blog.

British map dealer Philip Burden — his company is Clive A. Burden Ltd., named for his late father — is in the U.S. on a book tour; the second volume of his massive (and expensive!) bibliographic reference, The Mapping of…  •  Continue reading this entry.

Engadget covers this weekend’s opening of Garmin’s flagship retail store in Chicago, with plenty of photos to stimulate those who would find an upscale store dedicated to GPS products stimulating. Also points to Garmin’s corporate blog, which I don’t think…  •  Continue reading this entry.

Maps.com has launched a print-on-demand map marketplace called, naturally enough, Map Marketplace, which allows independent cartographers to submit and list their maps for sale on Maps.com’s site. The press release describes the venture as “a Cafepress.com for the mapping industry”…  •  Continue reading this entry.

Japanese map publishers are responding to the challenge of car navigation systems by shifting their focus to so-called “value-added maps,” the Asahi Shimbun reports in a profile of Maruzen, a Tokyo bookstore with a large map section. According to [Jinbun-sha…  •  Continue reading this entry.

Gadling reports that Santa Monica’s California Map and Travel Center, a travel bookstore that also stocks “a large selection of globes and a truly outstanding selection of maps,” is going out of business; the final closing date is May 31….  •  Continue reading this entry.

Our friend Tony Campbell has added a Latest News page to his awe-inspiring Map History/History of Cartography site, where he plans to bring news items to our attention. (Let the duel of Google Alerts commence!) Anyway, he’s just started, but…  •  Continue reading this entry.

The author takes a while to get to the point, but today’s Indianapolis Star takes a look at the Odyssey Map Store, which apparently is the only dedicated map store in Indiana. No web site that I’ve been able to…  •  Continue reading this entry.

Today’s Journal News runs a profile of map dealer Ralph Salomon, who, after five years of running his web-site- and trade-show-based business out of his home, is opening a by-appointment gallery in North Salem, New York on Saturday….  •  Continue reading this entry.

The Georgia Straight, Vancouver’s alternative paper, has a profile of Jack Joyce, who runs International Travel Maps and Books, a map store with a publishing arm. The article focuses exclusively on the latter, and, more specifically, on how maps are…  •  Continue reading this entry.

If you’re curious about what goes on behind the scenes at map stores, today’s edition of the Arizona Republic has a story about the growth of a Phoenix-area chain — that’s right, chain — of stores, Wide World of Maps….  •  Continue reading this entry.